Jonas' Experimental Grip Design

Fellow paddle maker, Jonas from Sweden (see post here), has been busy documenting his creations over on his new blog, Paddle Reflections. He has been working on a very interesting experimental design which features an elongated Northwoods style grip with asymmetrical notches for the grip thumb.

  Shaft length: 80cm (31.5")
Blade: 74cm (29")

 Jonas' experimental grip design

At first glance, the notches reminded me of another grip design, the Battenkill Grip. Many years ago, I started a whitewater paddle with this grip design, but as my interest in whitewater paddle designs faded, I never ended up completing the paddle. For anyone interested, the April 1997 issue of Wooden Canoe Journal (Issue 80 - Vol. 20 No.2) has an article describing the Battenkill grip in more detail. Basically it is a fusion of two popular styles, the standard pear and T-grip. In theory, the flattened portion of the half pear cradles the palm more comfortably and the half-T portion allows the thumb to curl around into a more natural position while still providing a positive hold on the paddle. Here's a schematic:

Source:  Wooden Canoe Journal (Issue 80 - Vol. 20 No.2)

Jonas' creative design looks to have alternating Battenkill grips to allow for a more comfortable angle when using this lateral grip style. Here's a pic from his blog post demonstrating the grip position. It looks quite comfortable to my eyes.

His blade design is interesting as well. ..

Some Cree paddles have an indented paddle blade reminiscent of this style. Also, in the Historic Paddle Art archive page, is an undated image featuring a French trade canoe and a paddle with similar curves (original post here). I wish there were more details about this print in order to find any tribal affiliation, if any.

Undated Canot d'Ecorce Illustration

Paddle Closeup

Keep up the great work on your paddles and blog site, Jonas!

Paddle tarp cups

Always like to repurpose gear when in camp. Why should paddles only be functional in the water? Setting up tarps with canoe paddles isn't a new idea, but often the paddle shaft or grip isn't conducive to tying support lines. After doing an image search for tarp and paddles, I stumbled upon Poster Chainsaw's 2009 review of the True North tarp over on the Song of the Paddle Forums. His thread "True North Big Tarp Review" features a tarp setup with an additional accessory.

True North Outdoor Company in the UK apparently includes 2 little mesh bags with sewn webbing meant to be slipped over the grips of the paddles and provide and anchor point for the lines...

Photo Credit: Chainsaw on SOTP forums

Photo Credit: Chainsaw on SOTP forums

Photo Credit: Chainsaw on SOTP forums

It's a pretty simple design and concept. I've always gotten away with just tying a clove hitch around the paddle, but with the elongated guide style grips I prefer, the guy-lines would often slip down.  Sometimes a paddle can simply be jammed under the tarp with just plain old tension serving as a support. This little contraption looks to allow the paddles to be setup slightly ahead of the tarp which is needed in certain configurations.

Poster Neiltoo on Ni-Wild - Northern Ireland Outdoors Community - made up a similar strap device to assist setting up his hammock tarp. Here are some pics of his creation on the thread "Using Paddles with a Tarp"

  Photo Credit Neiltoo on Ni-Wild Forums

  Photo Credit Neiltoo on Ni-Wild Forums 

   Photo Credit Neiltoo on Ni-Wild Forums 

Lastly, ulltralight gear site, Zpacks.com, is selling a product called "Trekking Pole Cups". These triangular Cuben fabric cups go over the handles of trekking poles but could easily be used for canoe paddles as well. Here's a closeup from their site.

 Zpacks Trekking Pole Cups

Original Link

Might be tinkering with something along these lines for another another winter project to work on using some scraps.

Canotrouge's Sitka Spruce Paddles

I recently got in touch with a fellow paddle maker over on the CanoeTripping.net forums who goes by the handle Canotrouge.

Originally from Quebec, he's now living the life most of us outdoor lovers can only dream of, way up in Canada's beautiful Yukon Territory. Here's a little writeup I asked him to provide about his paddle creations:

"I use mainly sitka spruce, because it is light, stiff and somewhat easy to get up here and at a fair price. I did a few out of cherry and walnuts, ash and a mixed of all of them, I like them also, but they are so much heavier.

I get my inspiration from the eastern Canadian first nations, but with my own touch, I'm not into accurate reproduction of let say a Maliseet or Passamaquoddy or Cree, but I use some of their characteristics to create my paddles.  

All my paddles have a reinforced tip of hard wood, mainly white ash and several coats of spar varnish (at least on the blade) after I put several coats of boiled linseed oil and or Tung oil. I some time use milk paint or aniline dye to colour the blade or other parts of the paddle."  

Here are just a few photo samples of his lovely work. More closeups can be found on his  Pinterest page...

Also very nice is the leather strap hanger found on some his paddles. It is reminiscent of the leather paddle harness sold by Norquay Canoe Co (see post here). I've recently made similar hangers from leather scraps and will post pics soon, but in retrospect, I like Canotrouge's elegant design more. 

Canotrouge's talents are not just limited to paddles. For more of artistry and woodwork, be sure to check out the facebook page for his workshop - Au Nord du Nord Woodwork.

Tobique Canoe Camp

The Toronto Reference Library has a huge collection of rare books in their archived stacks. While waiting around for some medical appointments, I quickly popped in and checked out a hard to find canoeing book now out of copyright - Camping and canoeing : what to take, how to travel, how to cook, where to go by James Edmund Jones (1903). It was actually published here in Toronto and features some grainy photos of the author's style of canoe tripping.

A particularly engaging photo is one of a canoe shelter camp on the banks of the Tobique River in New Brunswick. Poles rigged up with a tarp over the canoe hull provide a minimalist shelter with logs piled up in front for a reflector fire. The guide poses with his paddle on the right.

Up the Tobique Canoe Camp

For similar historic pics of these style of camps, check out the previous post on Canoe Camp Shelters.

Rod & Gun - Paddle Clothsline Camp

The  July 1910 edition of Rod and Gun in Canada (Vol. 12 No. 2) features a descriptive article entitled "Canoeing on Lake Superior" by Frederic Goodson Higbee. Along with lovely images of the landscape, page 167 features a panoramic photo of the author's camp. It features a comfortable looking Baker / Campfire tent rigged up by the shore.

What caught my attention was the lengthy clothesline stretched out in the background set up so that it would catch the breezes by the shore. Though the image is grainy, you can see one end of the line anchored to the canoe with a paddle used as an additional height support. Looks like another creative way to use a paddle while in camp.

Paddle Clothesline support - closeup