I finished building another GP paddle, but I haven't applied the finish yet. I'm kind of anxious to try this one out, so I'll be starting the finishing process today.

I built this one with a red cedar core and I used poplar for the blades. Why poplar? Well I found a board out in the shed and thought it would be light and strong enough. I also thought the red cedar would be lighter than the Tennessee Cedar that I've used before. I made the loom, or handle area of the new paddle, hollow, but it still feels a little heavier than I thought it would.

The blades are just a litte wider and I left the core a little thicker down the blades to make it a bit stiffer. I don't think there's going to be much flex in this one. Don't know if that will be better, or not.

I'm anxious to see if the slightly wider blades will make a bow rudder feasible. I'll probably use this new stick mostly on the Expedition where a bow rudder stoke is sometimes useful.