I just made my first Greenland stick and I was surprised at the stability of the western red cedar 2x4's I purchased. Actually, there were very few warped boards in the stack I looked through (100+ pieces). Unlike pine, even though the cedar was wet on the outside, it did not warp as it dried. I did get some splitting at the ends of a couple of pieces, but cutting off the split sections eliminated any further problem. I've got two more boards drying in the kitchen (I'm single, I can do that) that are as straight as the day I bought them.

The other bonus is that cedar is much lighter than pine. My finished paddle (based on Chuck Holst's design) came in at 27 ounces. Next time, I'll leave a little more meat in the blades (I want to try a different blade contour) and it should still be under 2 pounds. One thing about a Greenland stick is that it feels much lighter than a euro paddle of the same weight, since more of the mass is near the center, reducing the "swing weight" considerably.