Paddle 3. Victoria Park Special
Tuesday, October 17, 2023.
I was using a bent paddle with my 20lb canoe called Pheather and wanted a straight paddle that would facilitate better steering. I found a leftover piece of ash that was not needed for gunwales, a nice cedar 2x4 I had originally saved for a greenland paddle, and some shorter pieces of cedar for the blade. It took one hour to prepare the wood and glue it up. The process involved cutting and planning the wood down to size and sanding them smooth to 120 grit followed by the glue up. I put a piece of parchment paper under the blade portion of the glue up to keep the glue off of the clamps. For the handle I included a bit of walnut. I would let the Titebond III dry overnight. The design on each side differed and I looked forward to seeing which orientation was more comfortable. The next day I took another hour to work it down. Tools used included a hand held power planer, bench attached belt sander, aggressive grinder bit, orbital sander and 120 grit foam pads. A blue tarp on the ground made cleanup much quicker. Some wood dust (including cedar and ash) are carcinogenic so protection is recommended. I applied a quick coat of tung oil with a rag and placed it in the sun to dry. I put the rag in a safe place so it would not start a fire. I would later coat the new paddle with 3 light coats of Spar Urethane. I was ok with losing a bit of the comfortable feel that natural wood would allow because I enjoyed the look, especially the contrasting colours of the wood. I realise now I could have skipped the tung oil application and gone right to spar urethane. I even applied my new little brand prior to the coatings. Wood summary:
Blade: Ash Cedar (dark) Cedar Ash Cedar Cedar (dark) Ash Grip: Black walnut Ash Cedar Ash Black walnut Length: 56 1/2" Weight: 1lb, 13.2oz or 829g Max Blade Width: 7 1/2" or 18.9cm |