While you’re deciding
I’d suggest picking up a Grey Owl tripper or chieftain in cherry. Either will do till something better is found. Be careful with them in shallows, though…
With all due respect…
A good way to choose the best paddle is to start with your goals and needs, rather than just looks. Some questions such as, what is your paddling style? Tandem or Solo? Kneeling or sitting? Type of canoe; Type of water; Payloads and duration; Well, without belaboring this, you get the picture and maybe already rejected these criteria. For me, laminates are mostly the better choice. Solids are often too heavy and sometimes even not as durable. HTH
Pag
Fair enough
Most of my paddling experience has been in kayaks (3-4 days per week during season for last 12 years). I canoe intermittently but it has always been in a tandem with rental equipment. For the past several years I have done multi-day trips in Algonquin.
Although I agree aesthetics should not be an overriding factor with gear I am a bit old-school and just simply like solid wood. I dabble in some woodworking and enjoy the beauty of wood. Also, I am a big guy at 6’2"; 240#. I can paddle all day long with a club and so weight of the paddle is also not an overriding factor for me either. Balance, feel and quality of craftsmanship on the other hand are important.
I recently acquired a used Wenonah Prism solo that I will be using for daily/local paddling as well as for occasional camping trips. It came with a bent shaft paddle that I haven’t enjoyed so far but I admit that could change with the tincture of time and usage.
I appreciate all the suggestions.
Think you’ll find out that there is much
– Last Updated: Apr-30-15 11:49 PM EST –
more of a difference between one piece brand_X and brand_Y, along with the difference from laminate paddles in terms of stiffness=density=burliness. Factors that people need to assess for themselves(ie their physique). Agreed they are nice to look at... $.01
Prism
The Prism is a neat boat, designed from the first line on paper to be a recreational sit and switch boat, the paddler sitting on a bucket seat with feet on a cross-bar footbrace. The combination of Delta Hull and seated stance suggests a relatively small bladed paddle bent to ~ 12 dg. Start looking at BB’s Espresso/Sunshadow and Grey Owl’s Monarch but check Piragis’ Sanborns and Cricket. The hull shape and seating dictate a bent,
Heavy =
Rugged.
I love my Shaw and Tenney’s
Great paddles that can take a lot of use.
Dri Ki Paddles
I have a couple of these and they are nice paddles, nothing fancy, but decent basic solid wood paddles that I have used for years. The price is certainly right. He is located in northern maine on the way to the Allagash and St. John country. Not sure if still up and running but I think so.
http://www.dri-kiwoodworking.com/id1.html
I should say that
given your boat and seat set up I would choose a light bent shaft - my choice would be graphite - specifically a ZRE “Whitewater” model.
http://www.zre.com/shop/whitewater-11oz-carbon-fiber-canoe-paddle-p-36.html
Wood is beautiful
I agree, I much prefer wood, other things being equal (which they never are). I have a cherry beavertail from Grey Owl that’s so pretty I hardly want to get it wet. But it’s my favorite for flatwater, though I’d never take it out in whitewater or a downriver paddle where I’d be pushing off rocks and gravel bars. Ultimately, though, I spend very little paddling time looking at my paddle, but I spend a hell of a lot of time feeling it, so the handle is the most important thing from a usage perspective. If you narrow down your selection to paddles that fit your hand perfectly… you probably won’t find that you have a lot of choice regarding material.
Heavy
also equals tiresome.
A variety of paddles
It just so happens I counted my paddles yesterday. I have a total of 20, five are kayak paddles, the rest canoe paddles. Some are wood, some are carbon. Some are straight, some bent. I have solid wood and laminated wood. Some of the wood ones have fiberglass on the blade some don’t. Some are “animal” tail, some are not. I have an Inuit stick and a wing paddle too. I use them all. I guess my point is, variety is the spice of life.
Of the brands of wooden paddles mentioned in this thread, I have the most experience with Grey Owl. I like them, but quality varies. They can make some incredibly beautiful and functional paddles, like the Monarch Charlie mentioned (I highly recommend it), but also some really crappy stuff. If you want a solid wood animal tail, be aware that you may have to do a little work to get them just right. Some are blade heavy and have thick edges, which makes slicing (like in the Indian stroke) not very pleasant. But sandpaper can take care of that.
I would stay away from Bending Branches. All I have seen from them lately are completely flat blades with thick edges (and all are laminated).
Buy a pretty paddle for your wall . . .
. . . but get the most functional one for actual paddling.
The Prism, influenced by Wenonah’s racing heritage, is a tractor seat hull intended to be paddled most efficiently sit & switch style with a bent shaft paddle. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a solid wood bent shaft paddle. And I certainly wouldn’t want to paddle sit & switch with any heavy paddle.
Of course, you can paddle a sitting canoe with a single-sided correction stroke. If you don’t care about paddle weight or blade-shaft balance, then you already have the names of several makers of solid wood mammal tails.
Paddle Envy
Sounds like you have a nice collection! I have a bent shaft and a double bladed kayak paddle (although I think I would benefit from one that is a bit longer). I want to learn traditional strokes with a straight shaft paddle which I think will help when I am fishing. Not many options to buy local so trying to educate myself before pulling the trigger on an internet purchase. Thanks for your thoughts.
I got lucky
My canoeing mentor has sold me a lot of great paddles for very little money. I feel very lucky to have top-notch stuff that I could never have otherwise afforded.
You say you think your double paddle is a bit short. How long is it? The Prism has fairly narrow gunwales for a touring canoe, so you don’t need a very long paddle. Too long is just as bad as too short. For example, my Blackhawk Starship has 28" gunwale width and my 230cm double works fine. I used to have a 240cm, but it doesn’t need to be that long and the shorter shaft requires less effort.
Kayak paddle
My kayak paddle is 230 cm. I’m able to control the boat quite well with it but my strokes are fairly vertical so it’s a bit of a wet ride. The Prism is quite fast actually with a double blade. I feel like I could go up a size but a straight shaft single blade paddle is more of a priority at the moment.
Double blading a canoe
is always a rather wet proposition. You will always have water dripping into the boat. I suggest you keep a large sponge on the bottom right in front of you to soak up the water and get it out of the boat.
I really wouldn’t go any longer than 230cm on that boat. One thing that can minimize the dripping is making sure you have a good, efficient stroke. That means a rather short, quick stroke that starts by putting the blade in the water by your feet, with your arm fully extended, and taking it out by your hip. If you make the stroke longer than that (that is, you carry it further back), it becomes inefficient, slowing you down and you also end up with more of the opposite blade above the boat, thereby dripping more water inside.
I just re -read your post above
and you say you’ve been paddling kayaks for 12 years. You probably have a pretty good stroke and I didn’t mean to tell a fish how to swim. 
you’re a woodworker…
Why not make your own paddle?
About 16 months ago I built up a laminate blank (paddle tips are osage orange, edge strips rock maple, paddle core is cedar & poplar, and osage orange for the outer faces of the handle) and carved greenland kayak paddle. Actually I made two of them. While I do have some woodworking/cabinet building experience, I’ve never carved anything nor ever built a paddle of any type. It was fun, and both paddles came out very nice & work well.
If you make one you may find yourself making more.
I adapted a Chuck Holst design and drew up a sketchup model for the greenland paddle, but I’d guess the web has canoe paddle designs available.
Sanborn Gunflint Paddle From Minnesota
Is what I bought my daughter, three years ago, to paddle her solo outrigger canoe with. Now, it usually takes her an hour and 5 to 10 minutes to do a simple out, around an island and back run (depending on wind, current, tide and chop) using any of her old wooden or carbon canoe paddles. This time, however, using the Sanborn 14 deg. bent Gunflint, she did the run in under an hour. My only regret was not getting her this paddle earlier, before the State Champ’s Race.
It’s a nifty light weight paddle that feels like it weighs much less than the 19 oz. advertized weight. It’s made from scratch and not off the shelf. And yes, the top grip is oiled, but you got to remove the finish from the bottom grip to oil it. You can paddle for hours with this paddle. I recommend it.