I have never paddled a kayak in my life but I am building a pair of WD 12 hybrid's.  I made two Greenland paddles that turned out very good. One is 84" and the other is 86".  They are each about 30 oz.

Some day I will know if I like them or not.

Lou

Lou,

 Thats funny. I just put the last coat on a WD10 and am expecting my wd12 next week. I think I have 20 minutes in a sit on yak. Just said to my wife today, Jeez I hope to heck we like paddling!!!

How much time to make the greenland paddles?

Thnks

David

Hi David,

I have about 8 to 10 hours invested into each paddle.  Not counting the time spent looking for a good piece of wood. That's the hardest part of the whole thing.

Lou

I've gone through a couple store bought paddles and broke them.  Irritating at the expense.  I have been investing $25 in various boards and making Greenland's.  I've used red cedar, cypress, basswood and paulownia.  Cypress is so heavy I gave it away as an ornament.  Red cedar and basswood OK for weight.  Paulownia by far the lightest and my favorite.  98" paddle weighing in at 29 oz.  I made them extra beefy for strength.  As stated above, one paddle can be made in one day.   

Kim

Mrkim-thankyou for the input on the wood types when making a paddle. I had forgotten that I sent for and recieved a Greenland book--I just glanced at it and promptly went to the Duck manual and prints and forgot that I had it. Now I just have to remember were I put it. I did notice that the sky is the limit in the money dept. when buying paddles especially the carbon fiber and other lightweight comp. paddles-some seem to have some high tech looking blade shapes as well-I do not have that kind of money to spend but it would be interesting to hear from someone who has the holy grail of paddles just in case my ship does come in.

If you make a Greenland paddle you won't be "up a creek" for long. Like Kim says, Paulownia is a great choice of wood and easy to work with. I use one made of paulownia with my Shearwater and have a lot of miles on it. One note on state of the arts design, weight and cost. I've paddled my touring kayak for over 15 years with an Aqua Bound carbon shaft paddle that weighs 30 oz and was designed about 20 years ago. They still make a similar paddle today. Cost then was about $100 and now about $140 and that design has changed little over the years. I've used this paddle for thousands of miles and WAS perfectly happy with it. My daughter just got a new Epic Active Touring full carbon paddle that is about as high tech as you can get design wise and weighs 22 oz. It retails for $449. I borrowed her paddle and paddled in mild to rough offshore conditions for six hours this weekend and I ordered one for my self when I gt home. Over the years I've tried out several good paddles but never for too long or in rough conditions. What I proved to my self this weekend is that weight and design can make a VERY BIG DIFFERANCE. All that said, I'll stick with my Greenland paddle for my Shearwater and highly recommend paulownia to make them from. They're fun to make and paddle with so enjoy the carving and the paddling. SEEYA Jack

I've got the 240 cm bent shaft Werner Kalliste foam-core carbon fiber paddles for my WD12. They are pricey, about half the cost of  the WD12 kit. But another way to think of it is as $1.25 per day for a year, which is a lot less intimidating.

As far as the actual paddling goes, they are heaven in your hands. They feel as if they weigh almost nothing (26 ounces or 1.6 lbs or .74 kg), yet they're stiff and strong. The only effort in paddling is caused by the water, not by lifting the weight of the paddles. I put in 22 miles in one day in my WD12 with them and my arms were not sore.

I was a bit skeptical of the bent shaft, but the first hour of paddling made a convert of me. I've got a history of carpal tunnel issues, but that bent shaft kept my wrists aligned such that there was no strain on them. When I let my wife use them, the angle made more of an impression than the weight did. She noticed it helping with her shoulders, as well. The only problem I've had is that they encourage you to paddle longer than the heavier paddles do, so at the beginning of the season I get a blister or 2.

So I think they're great, a worthwhile investment and an excelleny companion for a WD12. The price may be a bit scary in today's economy, but if you can figure out a way to do it, they're worth it.

Laszlo

Getting back to your original questions, you will definitely want a 240cm paddle for a person your height (same as me) and the width of the Wood Duck. Buy the lightest paddle you can afford, as they seem to get heavier with distance. As for the type of paddle, I agree with Lazlo that the bent shaft Werner Kalliste is a fine paddle that's easy on the paddler. I have four kayaks and four very different paddles. I find that each boat works better with a particular paddle. For my 23" wide Merganser 17W, and its predecessor 22" wide Shearwater 17, my preference is a 230cm Greenland paddle made of Sitka spruce and redwood by Eric Schade. For my old 25-1/2" wide Current Designs Pachena, I prefer the 240cm Kalliste for distance and a similar straight shaft paddle for speed. For guests, I give them an adjustable paddle that can be set at any length and angle. -Wes

I should have mentioned type of paddling as the others have.  I am in mostly creeks, rivers and bays.  A 4 hour paddle is about  my limit.  I have broken paddles doing practice re entries.  Which is why I want them beefy and cheap.  I would cry if I broke a $400 paddle on a re entry. 

Chuck Hoist seems to have the most popular plans.

 http://www.carvegp.com/

 If you go the route of a Greenland and find that perfect piece, practice on a piece of pine first. 

Kim

Thank-you for all of your responses and the wealth of info. given. It looks like the Geenland  made from Polownia at 240mm will be my first paddle. I can see that if paddeling gets to be a regular exercise and the economy gets better than I will be looking at liteweight, bent, and no---- idiot brother in- law, you may not try this paddle----Thanks for coming through again--CZ

I made my first greenland paddle out of western red cedar, and am planing on making a storm paddle out of a beautiful piece of douglas fir that I have kicking around.  After that I'm thinking about looking into doing some lightweight laminates (although the cedar is pretty light to begin with).  I CRAVE a Kalliste, and will pine away until I can actually afford one.  :)  If I keep buying outfitting gear before the wedding, my fiance is going to kill me!  

 ~Chris 

Mrkim thanks for the video link --very informative---I have all of the hand tools but I think my band saw would save me a lot of time and energy in the rough forming dept...CZ

All the replies have been excellent.

 I have three different paddles for three different kayaks. My favotite set-up is a greenland - I can paddle farther and longer, with less damage to my ol' bod.

 One thing to remember is that Greelands have no drip rings, so I either use full or half skirts to keep my lap dry.

Enjoy your Duck!

CZ

I doubt I would have tried a GP without my bandsaw.  All you need now is a spokeshave.  Stanley has an inexpensive one that works well.

Kim

MrKim-thanks I have quite a collection of anything with Stanley on it including 4 spoke shaves. I find Mac's remarks interesting that of the differant paddles in his collection that the Greenland is his favorite-with less fatigue as one reason given. The impression I had when watching the video was the greenland at 240 cm would be stout but also heavy and from the looks of the video that the blade end would only be apx. 4 inches wide which when I compare this to what I see in the store seems rather narrow. One of the worries with this observation was that the ability to push hard with this paddle might be an issue. Oh the wear a skirt or get wet is a good pointer as well----Thanks----CZ

CZ,

Despite the blade thickness being a mere 3.5 inches (on mine), that overall paddle surface area is larger then a european paddle due to it being carried all the way down to the shoulders of the loom. So although a greenland paddle doesn't have the water resistance that a euro paddle does, the wetted surface area is nearly the same.  And they are also very, very light.  

~Chris   

Thanks Chris---coming from an experienced greenland user your input puts me at ease and it helps me feel better about gather the materials to proceed with this additional project. When it all said and done the ability to say "Yea I built the boat and the paddle too" does complete the package and adds the icing on the cake----Has anyone added anything to their paddle to keep the water from running down the handle ??---Thanks CZ

CZ,

 The whole idea of a Greenland paddle is to be able to slide your hands from the center of the loom right to the very tips. Anything added to work as a drip ring would defeat this ability.

Thanks Mac--your remark makes sense to me and when adding the one's Chris made makes me understand how a skinny paddle [which looked more like an oar to me at first look] works well for a kayak....CZ