: Still, the large blade "euro" (why it is called this) paddle
: evolved for a good reason

Well I can explain the name "Euro Paddle." It was developed by Europeans, as opposed to traditional paddles developed by the Inuit.

But I am curious when and how it evolved. Checking my own library, I can find photos of recreational kayakers from as far back as the 1930's using distinctly Euro paddles. I also found that kayak sprint racing was an Olympic sport as far back at 1936. It seems obvious to me that people racing in a 1,000 meter sprint would quickly adopt the widest blade the rules allowed.

On the other hand, I would expect that all the early kayaks collected by Artic explorers would have returned to museums with Greenland-style paddles.

On the third hand, I find that Heath and Arima show Gino Watkins paddling his White Kayak in 1931 with a Greenland paddle.

So when and how did the Euro paddle evolve? Anyone have any early evidence?

Mike