Skip to main content
HomePaddle Poll

I took a poll from a wonderfully knowledgable forum of paddlers that have quite a bit of experience both paddlng and making both replications and translations of the Greenland  style paddle.  A simple request of the Qajaq USA forum brought many generous replies.  I highly recommend a look at the site, a listen to the forum, and a consideration to join this organization. (Gabriel Romeu, Qajaq USA's original Patron).


name

total length

max blade width

width offset from end of paddle

tip shape

loom length

transition from blade to loom

loom dimensions

loom shape

material

finish

Rick Allnut
90"
3.5"
slightly rounded, mostly straight linear,
19"
unshouldered
cir-4.75" (prefer) - 5"
oval
pine
Wayne Smith
86"
3.75"
round
20-21"
both
varies
oval
Wayne Smith storm
66"
6"
Don Beale
88"
3.5"
6"
1" round off corner, flat
13", actual grip 18"
unshouldered
1"x1.5" - 1.25"x1.5" (1.75"x1.25" next one)
oval (3/8"round overs)
varnish, 4 coats over epoxy rubbed out with #00 steel wool
Brian Nystrom
90"
3.375"-3.5"
1.75"
round, radius half of blade width
21"
shouldered
1.25"x1.5"-1.625"
flat sided oval
I use epoxy on the last 3" of the blades and either 'glass or Dynel wrapped around the edge of the tip. I coat the tips with white tinted epoxy. balance of the paddle, I use a 1:1:1 blend of tung oil, gloss varnish and turpentine
Brian Nystrom storm
72"
3"
Greg Stamer
87.5"
2.875"
3"
round
21"
shouldered
oval, rounded rectangular
solid quartersawn western red cedar
linseed oil
Rob Gibbert
92"
3.5"
flat, mild rounding of corner
21"
mild shoulder
4.25" circumference
oval
Mike Savage
84"
3.125"
3"
square with rounded corners
17.5"
shouldered
4.625" c. 1.5"x1.25"
round rectangular
3 lb pine
Bobby Curtis
82"
3"
6"
rounded
17"
shouldered
1.5"x1.125"
rectangular
Michael Daly
88.5"
3.125"
1"
flattened smi circle
20"
shouldered
4.375"c.
oval
Michael Daly storm
71"
3.25"
1.25"
semi circle
6"
shouldered
4.75"c.
oval rectangled
Phil Ellis
86"
2.875"-->1.875" at loom
round tips .5" thick
19"
1-1/2" radius transitions into the shoulder
1.625"x1.25" round over.5-.6 radius
Linda Shelburne
84"
3.25" -->2" at loom
round tips
19"
1.5"-1.25"
flattened oval
Mark Molina
85"
3.25"
rounded square
19"
shouldered
4.625" c.
oval(rounded rectangular)
Juan Ochoa 1
96"
4.25"
7"
rounded
17"
shouldered, ~1.5 taper
1.25"-1.5"
oval
Minwax "Tung oil Finish"
Juan Ochoa 2
96"
4"
5"
rounded
17.5
shouldered,~3" taper from loom to blade root
1.25"-1.4"
smooth oval
high polmerized tung oil
PattyOchoa 1
86"
3.375"
3"
rounded
16.5"
shouldered, ~2" taper from loom to blade root
1.25 X 1.4"
smooth oval
High polymerized, Tung oil
Patty Ochoa 2
88"
3.375"
4"
rounded
16.5"
shouldered, ~2" taper from loom to blade root
1.25 X 1.4"
smooth oval
High polymerized, Tung oil
Sing
80"
2&7/8"
Tapered from tip: 20" down to 3/8" deep edge
rounded (FG/expoxy)
15"
Shouldered
4&5/8" c.

1.5"x1.5"

Square
Sing
81"
2&5/8"
Tapered from tip: 22" down to 1/4" deep edge
Shape rounded (FG/epoxy)
16"
Shouldered
3&7/8 c.

1.5" x 1&1/8"

Oval
Peter Robinson

96"

4"

4"

rounded

18"

little shouldered

5" circumference

smooth oval

Maligiaq Padilla

90"

2 5/8"

1.25"

round

24"

shouldered

3 1/2" circumference

rounded rectangular


Rick Allnut$2.00 92" pine 2x4 material for each paddle Rubberband drip rings
Wayne SmithI have about 10 paddles, of 2 basic designs (Shouldered and unshouldered)
Don Beale Paddle described- one of two prototype hollow-cores.

Most of my paddles have this tip shape. I like it for the strength it gives in pushing off, and it seems to ventilate less for me than a full round tip. It's about time to replace this paddle, and I think I'll go to a 1-3/4" x 1-1/4" loom cross section. It looks like most people prefer a bigger loom, and Ive noticed some thumb muscle soreness that perhaps this could be the cause of...

Brian NystromI like fairly thick blades, so I start with an initial taper from the loom thickness down to 3/4" at the tip.I've made six paddles so far. The storm paddle is the same in all other dimensions as regular paddle.
Linda ShelburneFor my first paddle I cut the loom closer to my shoulder width (~16")and found that I needed to use a short sliding stroke in order to not end up hitting my hands on the gunwales. My second paddle has an 18" loom, but I find I still am hitting the gunwales now and then in my Pintail that is 22" wide and even some times in my Rumour that is 19.5" wide. Sooo...I asked Brian to make me a paddle with a 19" loom. It's going to be a beauty!
Juan Ochoa 1this paddle is quite large, very bouyant, a bit of over kill maybe.
Juan Ochoa 2this paddle is about 'perfect' for me, I added Kwattl indian Orca eye designs to the tips
PattyOchoa1this paddle was a bit too small for Patty. It is very light. She wanted more blade area,
PattyOchoa2 this paddle is just about right. To optimize the blade area, I made the root a bit wider than the Holst plans suggest
SingMy arm span is 66" and cubit is 26". My height is 5'3". My current boat beam is 22". I use a higher angle stroke, generally around 45 degrees, only occaisonally bumping into the skeg cable control. I still getting use to the new GP. It has thicker cross section (airplane wing like) and more lift.
Mark Molinabeefy near the loom, little flex, durable edges. I have a Superior carbon and a Turtle Paddle solid cedar version with similar characteristics
Phil Ellisslightly hollow between the edge and the spine. Edge radius can start at 1/8" at the tip and increase to 1/4" at the loom.
Michael Dalyboth paddles - long axis of loom cross section is in the plane of blade
Bobby CurtissMade from a single piece of clear Western Red Cedar, the tips are protected with epoxy, the wood itself is rubbed with a light coat of epoxy.
Rob GibbertI epoxied the edges and the endcaps with an epoxy and white coloring agent.next time i'll just do the endcap as i'm not that tough on the edges.
Mike Savageedges are 1/4" flat for the outer 20" of the blade.
Peter RobinsonI have just completed my first paddle using the instructions from Chuck Holst.

1. This is my first attempt so rather than using cedar (which is hideously expensive here), I used a douglas fir 2x4 - it is known locally as oregon pine. 2. Because I have large hands, the paddle seems quite wide and has a large loom. It is quite heavy - just over 2kg - just under 5lb. It feels quite good in my hands - the loom is great, but it seems heavy. 3. The paddle should have been 98" long but my 2x4 was exactly a whisker over 8' (I bought it before I did the measurements) and rounding/smoothing the ends brought it down to 96".

Because of the weight of this paddle, I would be interested to see paddle weight added to your list which will be a great guide/resource for new gp builders. Maybe some paddler dimensions to go with the paddles as well. I'm 6'3 with a 78" wingspan and large hands.

Maligiaq PadillaMaligiaq made this paddle when he was 16 (he is now 20). His current paddle (of which I don't have exact measurements) has the same loom length, a few centimeters longer length and blades that are slighter wider at about 2 7/8".

Paddle survey by Greg Stamer.

Greg StamerMany of the Greenland paddles made for racing have plenty of meat in the center of the paddle blade but each edge and the extreme tip is sharp and thin. Subjectively these generated more "bite". My current paddles have fairly blunt edges but I plan on experimenting more with sharper edges. I would also like to make a paddle where the edges are slightly curved near the tip, rather than parallel, similar to two old paddles I saw on my last Greenland trip (one was made by Maligiaq Padilla's grandfather). See Gail Ferris's survey of a Vester Ejland paddle (the first survey) athttp://www.guillemot-kayaks.com/Building/GailPaddles/GreenlandPaddles.html. According to John Heath, Vester Ejland (Western island) with its rough seas and open water, produced many extremely skilled kayakers, including Peter Johnsen (pronounced "yoonsen"), Maligiaq's grandfather.

This length is an armspan plus a cubit (distance from elbow to finger tips). This works the same for me as curling my fingers over a vertical paddle or the dimension of one armspan plus two handspans (w/ outstretched fingers). In Greenland you will find many examples of kayakers who don't treat these sizing methods as "cast in stone", and many variations exits..

The paddle width of 2 7/8" is much narrower than the maximum that I can grip (my maximum grip is 4.5 inches).

Finish is linseed oil.Click here, for some details on the method I use.

Worth a look at Chuck Holst's making aGreenland paddle
For some traditional lofting, look atGail Ferris' page