Rob, thanks. Think I'll take you up on the idea of trying white cedar -- isn't that what better home decks are made from?

Wasn't sure about one thing, though -- I believe the dimensions for creating the paddle blank are for dried wood -- so if I find a decent 8' cedar board, do I just let it sit in the garage a couple weeks to dry before having it cut to dimensions? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Tom

Tom, Since you live in NY you should have no problem obtaining northern
> white spruce, which is what I use for most of my paddle shafts.

> Yes, I'll grant you, if you go to your lumber yard and ask for CLEAR
> spruce they'll tell you NO. But you must be resourceful.

> Here in the northeast most construction grade 2X stock is northern white
> spruce.

> If you look through the 2 X 10s and 2 X 12s you will be able to find a
> board with a clear section, since these boards are cut from larger trees
> more likely to have clear wood. After all, you need only find a 2"
> wide clear run.

> It may take some looking, but don't dispair, your clear spruce shaft will
> show up. As long as you leave the wood piles in good order, the yardmen
> won't hassel you.

> I recently made one of my Aleut paddles using northern white CEDAR instead
> of spruce. This paddle is 25% lighter than the spruce model. I used it on
> a recent week of wilderness paddling and loved it! It is more flexible
> than the spruce but became accustomed to it quickly.

> Now clear northern white cedar IS harder to come by. All you need is one
> 8' board, which you could probably buy from Newfound Woodworks.

> All the Best,

> Rob Macks

> Laughing Loon Custom Canoes & Kayaks

> www.LaughingLoon.com