Blades 1 through 4
Blades 1 through 4 full view.
mokulele
How about a performance report ;?>
My experience has been about 75% flat water / 25% small waves
Paddles from Left to right
Paddle 1: I don’t use this one too much - too long for me; If I cut it down it should be OK for general use, cruising, exercise.
Paddle 2: Lightest of the four (28 oz); 14 deg bend seems to good for paddling
Paddle 3: 2 deg bend is hardly noticeable. Because of the blade shape (narrow tip / wide shoulder) the paddle has to be placed lower in the water to increase the surface area in contact with the water. This paddle seems to be suited more for cruising / touring.
Paddle 4: Double bend on this paddle is personal preference. Reduces top arm extension a little. Weight wise, it is in the mid 30 ounce range, so it probably wouldn’t be suited for the high performance SUP guys.
You’re in Honolulu, so I am guessing “small waves” is up to head high faces or so? Have you noticed any big differences between what is good for paddling flat water for a long distance vs. paddling to catch a wave? Or paddling to catch a wave vs. additional maneuvering power while surfing it? Thx!
-Samaim
Good Morning Sam,
Yes, small wave are definitely below head high. The south shore is more like waist high on most days. Biggest difference for either long distance or waves is the weight of your paddle. Lighter seems to be better, mainly to reduce arm fatigue. Are you looking for designs/shapes/ideas for making your own paddle?
mokulele
The first paddle I made was from 1/4 baltic birch ply and a curtain rod… talk about heavy.
One thing I will say about the beavertail blade shape… it seems to have a top speed to me. You have to keep the RPMs up to cruise, and your pulling through broken up surface water most of the time. I like the ability to dig deeper.
Here’s one Im just finishing up. It was a present for my girlfriend for xmas. Its bass laid up with a purple heart stringer and the blade goes (from the outside) black walnut, PH, zebra wood, cypress, ZW, PH, bass. It has concave in the blade with a “spine” of sorts to help with blade wander. The bottom template is off my buddy EJ (he builds sick paddles “johnson big sticks”, I couldnt have done any of this without him) and then I just ran straight to the neck from there. Tried to put the wide point low for good pulling.
Hana me ke aloha, nou mea aloha - created with love for my love. corny, but it gets me smooches…
I will weigh it after a put on a coat of epoxy. It will be more of a surfing paddle than a race jobby…
Next up is a bass shaft with a carbon stringer, all bass blade and carbon on the back.
ACheateaux,
Nice paddle! I know how much work it is to do all of those laminations. What are the dimensions of the blade? I also like the thinness of the blade and the forward curve. Did you reinforce this blade with glass? I also experimented with the raised spine / keel on the back, doesn’t seem to hurt the performance. Also curious to find out what kind of edge you have on the blade. Is it epoxy or additional wood laminations?
I’m anxious to see your basswood/carbon paddle.
mokulele
the blade is 9 x 19. The edge is just fin roving I laid up before I glassed one side with epoxy. It is pulled out pretty thin towards the edges, but the face has a nice round feel to it. To bad its not mine!