Greenland paddle workshop

I attended a Greenland paddle making workshop to help get me motivated to finish the Greenland paddle I was working on. I didn't really have that much work left to do but I haven't been able to finish is as I really didn't want to sand inside the apartment. I did that once and it took a while to clean up the mess. The workshop started around 9:00 and was outside. The weather was a little cooler then I expected but the sanding kept me warm. I also forgot to bring a lunch, good thing I remembered to grab a few snacks. Some kind soul had also brought homemade brownies which were great.

For the paddle, I found that I needed to thin the blades some and shape the loom more. Other then that it was a matter of sanding down the edges to make everything round and smooth. After about 4 hours of work, I had a beautiful polished paddle. I wish I had a picture of the paddle. I took it to the pool session tonight and tried it out and it was so much better then before. The person who organized the event was also at pool session and he tried out the paddle and thought it was great. I didn't manage to roll my kayak with it, yet. I tried once when I capsized and didn't some back up so I just did a wet exit. I am not sure I like the paddle enough to switch over to it. But I do like the feel of the wood in my hands. I also really enjoyed working on the wood and seeing a paddle develop out of it. I want to make another but really don't have a need for one. Also the cedar is a bit expensive.