Historic Paddle Photo: Gabe Tomah

Another historic pic featuring a large Eastern Woodlands style paddle...

Gabe Tomah at Grand Lake, New Brunswick
Photographer Unknown. 1900
 

In the Maine Woods (1909) - Paddle Flex

An article entitled "Exploring Maine's Waterways"  in the 1909 Edition of In the Maine Woods features a great pic of some guides with lashed canoes transporting a bulky item. What got my attention is the clear picture of the standing stern guide putting his weight behind the stroke. Check out the paddle flex under the strain.

Over the years I've moved away from stiffer paddles and have started to enjoy paddles with quite a lot of flex - not everyone's cup of tea for sure. Last year, I tried to make another paddle for tripping with a piece of Sassafras given this wood's flexible properties and relatively straight grain. It didn't end well with the paddle breaking right below the grip.

I've got another Sassafras blank cut from separate stock and am hoping to get started on that for the upcoming paddling season. It is a narrow shafted (1") twin of the c. 1900 Penobscot Replica also completed last year.

CanvasCanoes.co.uk Paddle Making Workshop

Here are a few pics of a paddle making workshop held by CanvasCanoes over in Scotland (see previous post about them here). Really like the ridged & scalloped grip in the 2nd shot. The whole set of photos can be viewed on their facebook album.

Historic Paddle Photo: Maliseet Guide Resting

Here's a great shot dated to around 1900 showing a Maliseet guide leaning back for a pose in his bark canoe...

Lunt's Ferry near Fredericton, New Brunswick

c 1900

NBM (LS-AA242)

A grainy closeup of the paddle shows a rectangular grip area with some scalloped cutouts down to the shaft

Paddle Closeup

Passamquoddy Elder Paddles

Came across this beautiful photo of Butch Phillips, a Penobscot tribal elder in a bark canoe with some traditional paddles...

Original Link: http://www.pressherald.com/life/outdoors/dispatches_2010-10-31.html

Photo Credit: Brick Store Museum