: Some native paddles were made with definite "power face" sides. In
: sculling techniques there is no question that the paddle is being used as
: a wing and the asymetrical shape may offer some lift advantage. However,
: during the forward stroke there does not appear to be fast enough lateral
: motion for the paddle to really act in a fully "wing-like"
: manner, even for modern wing paddles. This doesn't mean an asymetrical
: section shape isn't still an advantage. After all, the modern wing paddle
: benefits from a foil shaped section, you can expect a Greenland paddle to
: gain some advantage as well. I suppose the fact that it creates one
: "right" side could also be a dissadvantage in some situations.

My favored paddle design is based on the Aleut paddle detailed on page 16, figure 16, and page 73, figure 109 of Zimmerly's book "Qajaq"

This Aleut design has a flat (power face) side and raised spine on the back.

Rob