I got a new paddle today from a well regarded paddle maker and I'm kinda disappointed with the build quality and finish. Being a pretty good amateur wooden boat and furniture builder and having been with a company that sold a lot of wooden kayak paddles I do know what a really nice custom paddle should look like.
So, any suggestions on who's the best outrigger paddle craftsman today? Who really takes pride in build quality and appearance? Performance is also important, but I know that I'll never be a great paddler (started too late), so it's not that big a deal to me.
Submitted by Chris K on Tue, 10/18/2011 - 11:47am
Christobal Topa, Huahine Rames.
#1 Tue, 10/18/2011 - 12:50pm
I've got a beautiful wood double bend made by Odie of Pure Paddles.
Excellent craftsmanship
#2 Tue, 10/18/2011 - 5:15pm
tai paddles from conan in nz. also huahine hoe.
#3 Tue, 10/18/2011 - 5:15pm
Ive had a paddle built by Odie (dbl bend, polyuth wraped top) since mid 2009. Super thick shaft, but lite. Great craftmanship IMO.
#4 Wed, 10/19/2011 - 11:41am
Scorpionpaddles.com
Custom made, you have all options in blade shape, shaft style and material.
Beautiful craftmanship
#5 Wed, 10/19/2011 - 8:16pm
Andy Reich on Kauai builds functional paddles that could easily be described as fine art. Unfortunately he builds them as a labor of love, part-time. If you've seen any of his paddles or are fortunate enough to own one, you know what I mean.
#6 Thu, 10/20/2011 - 9:02am
Thanks for the suggestions. The Huahine Rames looks really nice. My only concern is if it will work well with the other paddles in our OC-6? But I'll ask around at our club.
Mahalo
#7 Sat, 10/22/2011 - 10:59am