John Fereira wrote:
> I paddled with someone last weekend that had a Don Beale paddle. It
seemed
> like a nice paddle but it was really heavy for a GP.
In fairness to Don, I've seen some of his one-piece cedar paddles that
were pretty light.
> A friend of mine just
> started carrying Sawyer paddles and got a couple of their Greenland
paddles
> in. They were also very heavy and even their shortest length was about
4"
> too long for me.
The Sawyer paddles have a long loom, like the Betsie Bay paddles. This
is not conducive to good technique.
> Malone of Maine *used* to make a nice looking paddle
> called a Firestick but I don't think he's making them anymore.
They've been out of production for a while. It was a nice looking paddle
with pretty good feel in the water, but it was quite heavy.
> Betsie Bay also makes some GPs.
True, but they're modifications of the traditional shape designed to be
used with Doug VanDoren's low stoke technique. Like the Sawyer, they
have long looms which are not conducive to traditional canted-blade
technique.
>
>>> It's a self-published book that's not available on the major
>>> bookseller sites, at least not yet. It's available directly from me or
>>> through Chesapeake Light Craft (clcboats.com), The Woodenboat Store
>>> (www.woodenboatstore.com) or Newfound Woodworks (www.newfound.com).
>>> I've emailed you information about it.
>
> I found the book described in the "New" section on the Newfound site but
it
> didn't show up in the list of books that could be ordered.
I spoke to Michael a couple of days ago and he's just been too busy to
keep up with the changes he needs to make on the website. I guess that's
a good problem to have.
> I have always
> found the CLC site a bit difficult to navigate but I eventually found
the
> order form.
They have the book right on their Books page (in the "Accessories"
section under the "Buy Boats, Accessories and Building Supplies" tab).
>>>> I've seen suggestion on make the paddle more visible to other boaters
>>>> , ****ps . Any suggestion on how to make what to make the paddles
>>>> stand out ?
>>> The easiest way is to make the tips bright. I prefer to use
>>> white-tinted epoxy for that, as it also serves to harden and protect
>>> the tips.
>
> I wonder if there is some sort of reflective additive that could be
mixed in
> with the epoxy. I've seen lots of diffrent colors at our local marine
store.
A friend of mine has been experimenting with reflective additives in
epoxy coated tips. As I recall, she had somewhat mixed results. I'll
check with her and see what the final outcome of her experiments was.
The easiest thing to do would be to put a band of 3M tape around the
blade. I've done it on Euro paddles and it held up well in the water.
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