A couple weekends ago (the start of vacation), I took a two-day class from Bob Myron and Chris Raab on traditional paddling. Traditional paddling was used to describe how the Inuits used their kayaks. (BTW, kayak is an Inuit word for "hunting boat." Doesn't that make you look at your boat differently?)

They taught us a bit about the Inuit way of life and paddling. But one of the big aspects was building our own paddle. They gave us a 2 x 4 that was cut in the rough shape of a paddle.We shaved it down to this:

It was a slow process. I fretted over every cut and pass with the block planer. Every once in a while, I stopped to feel the progress. It was very satisfying to craft a tool that I will use in an activity I love.

The end result was not perfect. There are a few spots I regret. The orbital sander couldn't erase all my woodworking sins. But I love it:

The next day was spent on the water. Bob, Chris and Mike Henry taught us how to use the new paddles. It was completely foreign to me. Even the most basic forward stroke needed to be changed. I felt totally new. It was a very humbling experience.

The humbling continued as we moved on to rolling. I couldn't hit a roll to save my life.

Elaine on the other hand, is a rolling freak. She could do more rolls than a baker.

All in all, it was productive. I learned new skills that I honed while on vacation. My roll still is non-existent but I got some tips and instructions that allow me to work on it.

Once I get into a rhythm, the new paddle is a joy to use. My commercial blade is thin anyway and not far off from a traditional blade. I don't think I'm losing a lot of surface area.

It won't be a good paddle to use when I need a lot of power. But it puts the onus on my skills instead of the paddle. Working with with this paddle will make me a better paddler.

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