: For a standard double paddle I am think the white wood for shafts and then
: using some WRC and white wood glue up for the blades. Am I off base? Any
: better suggestions? Anything but native hardwood and SYP just isn't common
: around here.

I think you're moving in the right direction. For my paddles I use cedar, ash and a foam core. Then I introduce a feather using a jig. I make my blades from carbonfiber, but there is no reason you couldn't use a soft wood like cedar with hardwood tips. One on my canoe paddles is all cedar except for a ash strip going down the middle.

I'm linking an entry from my blog about how I built a paddle, and I'm linking an article that Richard Hayes wrote about building a paddle: http://www.nessmuking.com/paddle.htm I use a different jig now, and if you'd like me to post more about it, let me know.