I've wondered why a good paddle has to cost an arm and a leg. Well, the answer is they don't unless you have to have the prettiest whiz bang super carbon hot rod paddle. Recently I aquired a 230 cm. Sevylor Fiber Pro. It didn't cost me anything; it was a gift, but they sell for somewhere around $79.

My high dollar Werner now goes along as a spare. The Sevylor feels better, is about the same weight and is far more powerful and is infinitely adjustable for feather. For me, the blade is just right for power, or cruising. I wouldn't want it one centimeter shorter either.

There are fancier paddles out there, but I don't have to feel bad if I put a little scratch in the Sevylor. If it isn't fancy enough for your primary, it sure as heck would make a great backup and my bet is that it might make first string if you give it a chance.

I've done a couple of trips now using my new Werner Camano carbon fiber paddle and I'm sold. It's like I'm not even holding a paddle at all.

I'm a much stronger paddler now and experience much less fatigue over the long-run.

Considering I'm paddling a massive double kayak and need a 240cm paddle, I'll shave weight no matter what the cost.

Why aren't the wooden Greenland paddlers weighing in on this one.
Another question is what is the point of having the blades at up to 90 degrees to each other. When I first had a w/w boat in '78 it was what I had and what I am used to but the Greenland blades are aligned. The paddle I just splurged on with my new boat is also infinitely adjustable for feather. I get the wind resistance and the potential for catching an edge on a wave, but other than that.....?
I have noticed my left wrist will bother me by the end of a day paddling, so I am going to practice reducing the feather. (plan to carve the Greenland paddle as well)

After I bought my first GP I fell in love with it and order a second one. I love the look and feel of a wood paddle and once you get set into a good rytham it seems like you can go all day and not get tried and be surprised at the end of the day how much water you have covered. I have been able to get up 7.5 mph but usaully cruise between 5-6 mph with my GP in a 18'6 Seward Ascente.

Even though I'm very happy with the paddles I've got, I've never tried a stick--I mean a GP (sorry about that), but one of these days, I've got to try one for the heck of it.

I guess it all depends on what works best for the individual paddler when it comes to feather. I generally keep my blades aligned, except when paddling into a stiff wind. I haven't settled on a certain degree of feather--I just use whatever feels right at the time.

I had an old time ww kayaker tell me that I should be using at least a 45 degree feather all the time and more when going to windward. I said that I had tried that and it wore me out and it nearly caused a lot of near capsizes, due to wrong blade angle hitting the water.

The old paddler then said that whatever works for you is the right thing to do. I agree. The odd thing is that in one of my boats a 30 degree feather works better.

I bought a Cricket brand GP about 6 years ago out of curiosity. I used it for 2 hours without any instruction and have never used anything other than a Greenland stick since. Since then have received instructon and have made my own paddles. Some people can't get used to them (or more likely don't give them a enuogh time). If you get some basic instruction on how to hold them, stroke mechanics, etc it will make the experience and your evaluation more meaningful. I still have 2 fat bladed paddles but they are kept next to my snow shovel now. If my shovel breaks I still can clear the walkway.

Hey, that gives me an idea; I don't have a snow shovel, but I do have a pretty good sized scoop shovel. Talk about power. Just kidding Dave. Actually, I have been curious about GP paddles, but I used to have an issue with hand placement. Now that I've changed my technique over what it used to be, I don't think that would be a problem.

I have been a wood worker for so long I can't remember not being one. Anyway, I've been thinking about building a GP and it certainly looks like it should be a lot easier than a Euro, which I've already built. I guess I'll have to keep my eyes open for the right piece of wood. Or, I could laminate up some of the wood I've got laying around.

I think I would stick with about 90" for lenght and about 2 1/2" for width of blade. Do these dimensions sound about right to you? Does your GP have drip rings?

Try looking at http://WWW.qajaqusa.org They have a lot of excellent info on GP paddles + a page that tells how to build and the proper demensions for your size and boat.

Magooch,
No drip rings but some people tie a cord tightly around the blade about 3 inches away from your grip position. Length of paddle should be about as high as you can reach up over your head and be able to curl your fingers over the blade end. Mine are 86 to 88". Width at the end of the blade is what you can comfortably hold -- I use 3 1/8 to 3 3/8. 2 1/2 is pretty narrow. Grip width is roughly shoulder width. I use 21". The site the last poster gave you is good. It is Chuck Holst's directions that most of us use. A good red cedar or spruce 2x4 with vertical grain (lllll) is the best wood to use for a solid paddle. Try it-- hope you enjoy paddling with a GP.

The one remaining doubt I have about a GP paddle is, does it require an exaggerated twist and lean to take full advantage of the blade length? It seems to me that without such an effort, only a portion of the blade would be doing any work. This might be great exercise and force torso rotation, but it could be very tiring.

Also, it's obvious that I am totally ignorant about GP technique, but what do you mean that paddle width should be based on what is comfortable to grip. Most of the GP paddles that I have seen, had very narrow blades. I didn't actually measure them, but 2 1/2" was my guess.

I was able to install drip rings on the Euro paddles that I built and if I build the GP the same way, that wouldn't be a problem. My plan would be to shape the handle, or shaft section first, install the drip rings and then glue the blade pieces on both sides of the shaft to get the blade width. I would also use a router to hollow the shaft and then glue a cover piece on the handle to cover the trough. I used maple on my Euro paddles, using a similar method to produce a hollow shaft. They turned out to be very strong and extremely light.

The main problem with the Euro design is that fiberglassing was necessary to keep the whole thing together and that increased the weight to the degree that it isn't worth the trouble.

"does it require an exagerated twist and lean to take full advantage of the blade length?"

No. No extraordinary body movements are necessary. Arms are kept bent a bit more and elbows are lower than the stroke with a fat blade paddle. Body rotation is used as "arm paddling" with any type of paddle will not get you far. The whole paddle/stroke combo is what I like to call a low energy system. An Inuit hunter needed to expend as little energy as possible getting to the place he wanted to hunt seals. After catching his prey he needed to expend as little energy as possible towing his catch home. It will be more evident when you get hold of a GP and try it on the water. The interesting thing about a GP is that it responds well to modern stroke technique as well as a wing paddle stroke. Very vesatile.

http://onnopaddles.com/

I bought an onno full tour...still expensive but probably the lightest paddle you can get for the money and its well constructed (and customizeable). you should definitely consider them...

I've been wanting to build a greenland paddle...

Tried a GP for the first time a couple of weeks ago. The owner gave me minimal instruction. I was amazed at the ease and forward motion. I had a little trouble with it butterflying, but that was me. When I got one side to stop, the other side did. After paddling with it for about 15 minutes, I almost had it down...then the guy wanted his paddle back...oh well...guess after I get the new boat, I'll have to get a new paddle. I undertsand there are several GP "artists" out there on the west coast. Any suggestions?

Deb
Trying looking at http://WWW.qajaqusa.org/equipment/comercial_paddles.htm

They have a good list of manufactures and even instructions on how to build your own

Thanks! I'll check it out. Boat first, then new paddle.

deb