Hi Greg,

I agree, I should have said the least expensive. I just bought an $18 Alaskan yellow cedar 2x6, which is expensive for a 2x6, but cheap, cheap, cheap next to carbon fiber paddles.

My laminated spruce shafts are lighter than CF paddles.

Shawn

: I have no problem with being cheap, just ask my wife (hey, I rescued my
: current BBQ out of the trash when a neighbor discarding it just because
: the burner was shot).

: But cheap meaning inexpensive and cheap meaning poor-quality are two very
: different things, and different folks might read your use of the word
: either way. I would feel safer wearing a poor quality PFD or even none at
: all, than rely on a paddle and a spare made with defective wood. So
: scrounge away, but I wouldn't advise anyone to ignore quality.

: Everyone is different. I started building my first paddles with whatever I
: had on hand, then become more and more picky as time went on. When new
: carbon paddles can cost over $400.00 dollars, I still feel pretty darn
: "cheap" when I can get a quality piece of cedar for $15.00 -
: $30.00.

: Greg Stamer