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8/01/2018 12:29 am  #1


Fleet of paddles

Our family trip is in a little less than a month, so I've been making preparations.  This year, I bought a couple of paddles (Grey Owl), one to better fit my son's height, and one because I'm basically retiring paddles that I bought near Algonquin Park in the late 1980's, I believe 1987 or 1988.  That's actually why I'm writing this (stay tuned - there is a question at the end).  Those two paddles are nearing the end of their useful life.  Last year I had to repair splits in the blades of both, and I noticed tonight there's a new one started on one of them.  Still, thirty years - that's outstanding service!  

My wife still likes to use them, but for me, they are heavy, very large-bladed beaver blades with narrow shafts, and during the past few years they've worked on my elbow pretty hard.  The grey owl paddle is much more narrow, the shaft is thicker, and the paddle weighs next to nothing.  Much better on the 53 year old elbow. 

So, tonight I was oiling the paddles. (I prefer paddles from solid wood with an oil finish, generally I use Fornsby's Tung Oil, low gloss).  I saw the fleet down there and thought a photo was in order. 
 

The two on the left are the big cherry paddles I bought around 1987.  They are a pretty good match dimensionally, the second one in is just turned to the side a little.  In the middle is the grey owl (cherry chieftan, it came with a coating of boiled linseed oil, it just felt kind of dry to me, so I tung-oiled it).  The dark one, 4th from the left I found on a lake after a storm about 25 years ago but was rarely used until last year.  Super-light, but the tip was chopped all to death so I cut about an inch off the blade this year.  It is dark because when I first got it, I wood-stained it....whatever.  I put wood hardener on the tip as well years ago because it was pretty soft.  The one on the far right is a very pretty one that I think I got at a garage sale from a neighbor a few years ago. 

The great paddle debate is always what to put on the wood.  I don't like polyurethane, they always end up with bubbles or bumps around the handle or the bottom of the shaft and it makes me nuts, plus they stick to my hand and get blistery.  The grey owl I got for my son is poly-coated, it has a plasticized tip on it and is laminated, so it kind of had to be poly-coated (it is not pictured).  I prefer the Tung-oil because it works in so well and just feels so smooth on the hand.     

Now onto my question (at last!).  I purchased the two big cherry paddles from a gent near Kearney.  We were returning home from a trip where we accessed at Magnetawan or Rain, and he made paddles at his home.  I knew of him because I had seen the place the prior year or somebody mentioned it.  I paid $35 each for those paddles, and I think $10 more for a little rack to hang them from.  He wasn't a young man at the time, but hey I was 22 so everybody looked old to me.  Anyway, here's a close up of his mark. 

I am wondering if anybody knows anything about him.  There was nothing mass-produced or automated about the build of his paddles, they were very much hand-made, and obviously well-made.  You don't get three decades out of very many things, and if it weren't for my elbow I'd continue using them.  As it is, I'm thinking about how to wall-hang them in our family room when my wife does tire of using them (she doesn't know about that idea so don't say anything, I'll need to ease into that conversation.....and then I'll have to do some whining and pouting....)            
 

 

8/01/2018 5:14 am  #2


Re: Fleet of paddles

Can't help identify the person, but I can give a suggestion for how to wall hang them. I used two wall screw/hooks, and let the paddle sit within that. It actually fits perfectly, is very snug/secure, and is very minimalist while still letting you take the paddle off in just one second... in case they come out of retirement
If you have multiple paddles and you arrange them in opposite orientations, I think that would look pretty good

Wall screws: https://www.usaoncanvas.com/images/articles/utility_hook_wall_hanger.jpg


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8/01/2018 7:50 am  #3


Re: Fleet of paddles

The "Cherry Paddle Man"!  His shop was in Emsdale, ON, on highway 518 that leads into Kearney, on what is now the empty lot to the right of the blue clad house (if you are looking at it) near the corner of 592 and 518.

I don't remember his name, but I will ask my father, as he may have more details about him.  If you're around Canoe Algonquin, one of the Rickwards would definitely have more information, or access to it through their parents.  We visited the shop at least once a year for a number of years.  From my memories of overhearing my dad's chats with him (he could _talk_) while I browsed through shop, I seem to remember he wintered in the US, which is where he sourced all his cherry, bringing it up with him for the summer.  I remember even in the heat of summer he always had the wood stove going in the shop. Behind his shop was a barn _full_ of clear cherry planks.

He also made bent shaft racing paddles when ordered, and canoe yokes that he would custom fit with some last minute carving.  You'd come back in a couple of days to pick it up so he could put a few coats of oil on it.  My father still has his fitted on his canoe, and he loves it.

I have had three paddles from him over the years, including my first paddle, which my parents bought for me.  It also served as my son's first paddle, and it is quite beautifully made.  The last paddles we bought from him were in (I believe) 1996 or 1997.  His health was failing, and the paddles weren't near the quality they once were, so they are now display pieces.

In second place behind "Cherry Paddle Man" in Emsdale 'folkart' lore was the "Banger Man" that sold "Bangers" on the corner of 518 and old highway 11 out of a little trailer at the gas station.  Ya'll bought a banger from him back in the day after coming back from a canoe trip, right?!

 

8/01/2018 8:22 am  #4


Re: Fleet of paddles

There's a way both you AND your wife can win! 

We have 2 of our paddles hanging in our living room. But those are also 2 of our most used paddles. We just pull em off the wall when we need em and pop em back up when we're done. Convenient storage and beautiful decor! 

Just be sure to wipe the blade before hanging it back up (I usually just wipe mine on the thigh of my shorts cuz I'm classy like that).

 

8/01/2018 9:30 am  #5


Re: Fleet of paddles

Shaggy - definitely the Cherry Paddle Man.  I did get them on the way out of the park, but I put in the request to stop there as we drove in.  I remember the building and roughly where it was (I feel better now knowing that the building is gone, that explains why I couldn't find it...), and as you mention it, I do remember the fire going in there as well.  Thanks for helping with that.  By the way, my best friend growing up, his name is Kevin, but at some point one of our friends started calling him Shaggy.  He had hair, but it was thinning even then, so I asked the kid how he came up with Shaggy.  He says "Look at him!  He's Shaggy!"  I assumed he meant the cartoon character, so that was good enough for me.  38 years later that's how my kids know him.  I'm not sure they know his real name.

Trippythings & Claire - thanks for the suggestions - it might not take much talking-her-into-it for my wife....her elbow has been bothering her a bit as well, she dingered it recently, and she now sees the benefit of a lighter paddle with a narrower blade....plus, the color on those paddles is terrific.  They've really darkened with age to a deep, rich red.  Plus, how could she NOT want two giant paddles hanging in the family room????

 

     Thread Starter
 

8/01/2018 10:20 pm  #6


Re: Fleet of paddles

Banger Bob. Legendary. 2 items on the menu. Bangers (with 3 or 4 toppings) and Coca Cola..in a can. Absolutely legendary. He passed away only a few years ago.

 

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