I recently came across a pair of 66" blond wood canoe paddles made by Grumman in about 1972. They are in great shape. The original Grumman logo is still clearly shown in blue on each blade. I can’t even use these as they are too big for me. The blade face is about 6 1/4" X 25" where it starts it’s taper to the shaft. I’ve never seen a blade face this large before. Are there dealers, collectors, enthusiasts that can tell me what to do with these? I could hang them as art in the man shed, but they’re too nice. Any info would be appreciated.
Sell 'em on eBay and use the
– Last Updated: Jun-16-09 10:40 AM EST –
proceeds to buy a nice paddle you can use. There are plenty of us watching out for nice old paddles over there, and good ones seem to often go for more than I'm willing to pay!
Probably, a reason they're in such great condition is that they're way too long for most paddlers and poorly designed to boot. Might be worth something to the Grumman buffs, though.
Voyageur canoe paddle
66" overall length and 25" blade length make the shaft length 41". That’s just about right for paddling the big voyageur canoes. A camp or park with a voyageur canoe might be interested in them.
Grumman made many boats
In addition to the standard double ended canoes, Grumman made big war canoes, square stern freighter canoes, and small outboard boats. The long paddles may have been for these larger boats where the reach to the water was greater.
Bill
Thanks!
Your information makes sense. All I knew was that when I looked at the surface area of those blades, my arms and back felt tired. I’ll consider putting them up on ebay but might go local. Thanks for your input.