:It think with a double bladed paddle I will still be
: able to outrun the fishing SOT's most of them paddle.

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: Hi Jeff,

: Looks really nice, though that paddle seems somewhat out of place,
: also probably way too short :)

: Time to carve a canoe paddle, maybe a nice bent shaft one.

: Bill H.

I hope it is going to be a proper canoe paddle with a blade at one end and a handle at the other. :-)

I am not convinced that you will be any faster in a canoe using a double paddle than a single bladed paddle. For a start, your paddle strokes with a double will be further from the side of the canoe. That makes them less efficient. With a single paddle, it is much easier to do efficient power and turning strokes close to the canoe. It is also easier to control a canoe with a single paddle.

My experience has been that the speed of the canoe and the distance it can cover in a day is determined more by the paddler than by the paddle. The limiting factor seems to be the strength and energy reserves of the paddler, not the number of blades on the paddle.

I have also found that fishing from a canoe, it is more convenient to have a short single paddle to deal with rather than a long kayak paddle.

It is possible that your technique, your fishing gear, your local conditions or some other factor will lead you to a different conclusion but I don't think you should automatically assume that a double bladed paddle is faster than a single.

I like the shape of the canoe. The ends remind me a lot of a canoe that my brother and I used to race a lot including a couple of 111km overnight races and a couple of 120km races. We also paddled it several times on a fast flowing river where the water flowed at something like 10km/h. It had a much flatter hull than yours and no tumblehome. Our seats were level with the gunwales. It was called a Yankee Marathon Canoe and was specifically designed for marathon races. Your is probably a better shape for a general purpose/fishing canoe.