Need information on bent shaft paddles...

[David Hostetler]

Okay so not directly boat, but boat related...

Before I get insane and decide to build a cedar strip canoe, I want to try my hand at a bent shaft laminated canoe paddle first. Are there any books, or web sites that have good articles on how to build these, or more specifically what design features to consider when coming up with a plan, how to seal them etc?

Thanks for any info you can offer!

[Gary Breckenridge]

Yes, Canoe Paddles, a Complete Guide to Making Your Own can be had from Amazon.com for $15. Also buy one of the videos by Bill Mason.:)

[Mac McQuinn]

I have a set of Carbon Fiber Canoe paddles with 12 degree bend, they weight about 15 ounces each and work great. If you need dimensions or pics to help you re-produce them in wood, PM me.

Mac

[David Gendron]

A 12degree bend is more natural and as for the book mantion above it's a great book. What I did for a paddle I made is, i use 1/4 inch strips of wood, 5 all together to compose the shaft. I made a forme out of two layers of 3/4 inch ply, layed out the shap on it and use a band saw to follow the line. Add some guide blocks on one side of one half of the forme so the strip wont slide out when glueing. For the glue I use Dural Marine glue Waterproof(AM18), great for lamination and as a long open time.
Ho yes, line all parts of the forme with clear packing tape so you can take the paddle of the forme!!
Good luck!
David

[Allen Brown]

After checking out this site:http://bluestempaddler.com/canoe_paddle/index.html I followed his methods to make my first bent shaft paddle last week.

I used walnut & Cyprus, cut into 1/8" strips, 9 total. I cut my form out of an 8' 2x10, at 7 degrees. More on the angle later. I then glued all the pieces together using gorilla glue. A few people suggested that I should use West Systems epoxy instead, but I didn't have any at the time, and I am going to coat is with the epoxy resin after, so I figured that glue would work all right.

When that was dry, I trued it up on the table saw, and glued cherry, maple & walnut on for the blade. I know, cherry & maple are heavy woods, and a truly great paddle should be as light as possible, but I used them anyways, because I had some in the shop just laying around.

All of the blade pieces were 3/4" thick, so once the blade was glued, I made a taper jig for my router so I could taper the blade from 1/4" to 3/4" in the 19" length of the blade. I did this by attaching a 1/2" spacer to the bottom of (2) 2x2's, and making an extra big faceplate for my router with 1/4" plexiglass. I then cut the blade to shape with a jig saw, used a round-over router bit on the shaft, glued some cherry to the shaft for a handle.

You will notice on the picture with the clamp, that I have a six inch section where the cyprus shows, and then it goes back to walnut. The reason for this is the bending form I used did not have a perfectly straight cut on it, so when I cut my taper, it showed. So make sure your cut is straight on your bending jig!

Friday I ordered some West System 105 resin & 206 hardener to coat the paddle with, and I will likely use some 3 oz fiberglass on just the blade. I will then coat the entire thing with a marine varnish for UV protection.

My next paddle will have a 14 degree bend. That one will be used for the bow of the canoe, and the 7 degree will be used for the stern of the canoe. The reason for this, is it is harder to do a J-Stroke with a bent shaft paddle, and the 7 degree bend will give benefits of both styles. since I am not racing, I don't need the fastest paddle ever for the stern position.

I will post a few more pictures on the next one.

[Allen Brown]

I used a 2 part epoxy for the tip, to protect it from the rocks, because I am going to use this paddle.

[Don Orr]

I hope to emulate your paddle someday. Thanks for the detailed instructions.