Tips Sail

Here are some more single blade kayak paddles, made by Alutiiq artist, Jerry Laktonen.


Jerry Laktonen's Alutiiq Paddles
Jerry's site, whaledreams.com has the following information about their shape and function...

"The Alutiiq kayaker (canoeist!) kneeled rather than sat in his baidarka (Russian for little boat) and used a single bladed paddle, from a more upright position. The shape of the paddles were long and pointed as to enter the water quietly while hunting. As the blade was fully half the length of the paddle, the surface area needed for power paddling was there when needed . just as if shifting into a lower gear. the shape also was beneficial in that it moved easily through the wind while being brought forward."

Lately I've been trying to research the use of single blade kayak paddles from the net. According to KayakWiki site:

"Most modern kayakers associate a single blade paddle with canoes. However, single blade paddles have been used for centuries in kayaks, especially in the western arctic, Alaska and Siberia. Koryak, Chukchi, Aleut, Kodiak, Bering Sea, Bering Strait and Mackenzie Delta hunters used single blade paddles. Kodiak and Chugach paddlers used single blade paddles almost exclusively."

Tuktu Paddles has a great page on single bladed paddles. I especially liked the King Island designs. These plans for these same paddles is available in PDF form from David Zimmerly's page on Artic Kayak paddles. The 1st design with its recurved blade is interesting to me. I've already cut out two blanks with the this design - a one-piece birch and a walnut/cherry/laminated combo.


King Island Single-bladed Paddles UM #8565 & #8566

Hidenao Matsubara of Indian Canoe Craft has a photo of a single blade paddle with his baidarka. See below


Matsubara's beautiful carved Baidarka paddle

Finally, Harvey Golden's amazing pages on Traditional Kayaks contain some images of single blade kayak paddles


Eskimo Seal Hunter--Bering Sea.


Kodiak Three-Hole Baidarka


Yuit Kayak, likely taken at Nome.

Blog reader Luke M from Wales has recently gotten into the paddle making hobby and has sent in some of his wonderful creations. Each paddle has been carved from locally grown ash with an axe and crooked knife. Most impressive! Here is a group shot of 4 paddles along with descriptions he provided.  These paddles are based on (left to right):

• The 1878 Malecite paddle at the Fredericton Region Museum (post here).

• Various historical fur trade paddles seen on this site and elsewhere.

• The Malecite paddle in the British Museum featured on your site (post here)

• The 1889 Passamaquoddy ocean canoe paddle in The Bark Canoes and Skin Boats of North America. It’s 75” long and is mainly used standing 

Here is Luke's first attempt at making a paddle from a log completely by eye without any templates or guidelines. It was also carved smooth enough to not require sanding.



This last paddle was carved recently from another quarter of the same log...just lovely!



Luke also sent in a photo of his tool set. The crooked knife blades were made by hand out of old files annealed in his woodstove. The axe is an old Kent pattern head which was restored and fitted with a homemade handle too.



Very much looking forward to seeing more creations from Luke in the future!

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Chris Lowry of Ecotone Productions has a Flickr album of his woodwork, including some carved and hand-painted paddles.  Chris draws the designs in pencil freehand and then uses sharp tip wood burner to etch. The paddles are then painted with diluted oil paints and protected with spar varnish.


Included in the set is a lovely painting of a Heron and realistic image of a snake wiggling its way up the blade.




Readers of the blog might notice the scroll pattern on one of the paddles as the famed c.1849 Green Passamaquoddy paddle in the Peabody Museum. Chris based this pattern on the hand drawn sketch by Liz Regan which appears in Warren and Gidmark's Canoe Paddles: A Complete Guide to Making Your Own. Below is the original paddle blade catalog photo...




Anyone interested in seeing this paddle in person are reminded that it is currently on display (until April 2016) as part of the Peabody Museum's exhibit, The Legacy of Penobscot Canoes: A View from the River. For those of us that can't make the journey to the museum, closeup photo's of the paddle blade and carved grip can be view in previous posts here and here.

Thanks to Chris for permission to repost his photos. Looking forward to future paddle art projects.