What Goes Into a Paddle

All of my paddles, whether functional or decorative, are made the same way.

I mill my stock from a variety of woods, typically mahogany, fir, redwood and cedar:

Those are glued and clamped to create the blank for the paddle shaft. In the case of single or double bend shafts, I have jigs that I clamp them to achieve the bend.

Here is a double-bend SUP paddle coming out of the jig:

From there, I square out the blank with a planer, and then develop the oval shape of it using hand planes:

The blade is made of similar tight-grained, book-matched wood, edge-glued and clamped, with a temporary jig to keep things aligned. Here instead of book-matching I made one long blade that will get halved for gluing on to the shaft:

Another temporary jig to attach the blade halves to the shaft. I’ll use 4 or more big clamps normally; this shows the first two:

From there I use one of my paddle templates to draw the blade shape, and cut it with a jigsaw. From there it’s down to final shaping and sanding. I usually add a piece of hardwood at the bottom of the blade running perpendicular (or at an acute angle) to the rest of the grain – this not only looks good but makes the blade structurally stronger:

From there, the blades get a layer of fiberglass set in epoxy. The whole paddle is coated in epoxy, sanded and recoated until glassy smooth. I wood-burn the serial number and my signature, set any graphics under the glass, and voila! Beautiful and functional.

200 Videos

 

My Vimeo account has reached 200 videos. While I know that’s a bit like saying “AC/DC made 15 Albums” when really they made essentially the same album 15 times, it’s significant nonetheless.

 

As such, here is number 200. Hope you’ve got 20 minutes to kill.

Kualoa #4: Pyramid Rock

This is probably the best board I’ve done yet, shaping-wise. Everything worked out perfectly and the dimensions were spot on; symmetry was achieved (although frankly it’s overrated), and  the contours blended nicely. The glass job came out good also – slowly figuring out how to get a decent epoxy finish. Not mirror-smooth, but nice nonetheless. The artwork – I did a foam-stain mural of Pyramid Rock on the bottom, using colors that would complement the deck (maroon and gold). The stain actually wraps around the rails to the deck pinlines. Deck is airbrushed with a fabric inlay on the nose. It was very, very hard to hold on to this board – the customer was out on deployment while I made it – and I hated to see it go. I just hope he doesn’t snap it LIKE HE DID THE LAST ONE!!!

And, the inspiration:

Palaoa

5’10”x21 3/4” and 6’6”x22.5”. Built for max fun in waves head high down to ankle slappers. Single concave nose to tail with v-panels where the fins are. Design is based on a combination of the alaia, the incredible “Nohu” model and the CI “Sperm Whale” model. Low rocker – 3” nose and about 1” in the tail, and relatively straight rail lines – along with 4 fins equals super speed and planing in all conditions. Won’t be the most vertical board in the lineup but it will be the most fun.

The Shop is Open!

I’m back after a busy summer working my real job. Behold the Palaoa! In a 5’10” model and a 6’6”, both about 22” wide with noses and tails not much less (17” nose, 18” tail) and low rocker. Basically, take your basic 9’6” longboard and lop 18 inches off the nose and tail. All the advantages of a longboard – easy to paddle, catches waves practically by itself and rockets along on even the smallest swell – along with the maneuverability benefits of a shortboard. They will be quads. Bottom line – maximum fun with minimum effort.

The Kahana

9’7” x 22 3/4”, a very full tanker shape with a large concave in the nose to almost the halfway point and double concave/vee tail. Double 4oz bottom, triple top; 2+1 fin set-up, about 3” thick. This is designed to be a great summer board for waves up to about head high, with plenty of float for taking a little one on board or doing push-ins at Baby Queens. Both are for families with little ones (note the baby footprints on the rainbow fade board) and hopefully Kahi and Brenten will be riding their first waves on these boards.

The Papio

A junior sized shortboard. 5’3” x 17.5”. Light and thin, a true performance shortboard for a young lady. Airbrushed top with plumeria around the rails, pink pinlines, and spray fade on the deck. Glass-in laminates on the bottom. Art concept by my daughter Angelyne.