What timbers for paddle construction?
This will vary upon availability, price and the manufacturers location. Their are definitely preferred timbers, favored for there strength to weight ratio; as strong and as light as possible. These timbers include in ascending order of weight; Western Red Cedar, White Pine, White Cedar, Northern White Spruce, Sitka Spruce, Cypress, Douglas Fir and White Ash. The heavier, hard woods are preferred for blade tips and edging and as laminates for in particular, steerer’s paddles. Shafts are often made from laminated strips of Oak, Ash, Koa and Sitka Spruce. Other timbers include Purple Heart and Koa. Purple Heart has a beautiful color which when combined with a white timber, creates a beautiful affect. Koa, a native Hawaiian timber is heavy and strong and often used sparingly to give strength and stiffness to shafts and blades, though sometimes solid Koa shafts are constructed. In island regions of Oceania, many common commercial timbers are unavailable and so local timbers are used and the
