Hi Folks,
I was in the local paddling shop this weekend and saw a beautiful one piece otter-tail style paddle. I was admiring it and couldn't help thinking "I could build that." So I'm here for advice. I know, I know, this a KAYAK building forum, but this has got to be one of the most knowledgeable groups out there for this sort of thing.

1) What's the best wood to use? (the one in the store was walnut)

2) Is there a disadvantage to using one piece of wood for the entire paddle?

3) Can anyone direct me to a website that has good canoe paddle building info? especially plans, though I think I can fairly easily copy the lines from the one in the store if they'll let me measure/trace it.

Thanks for the input,
Bryan