: Hi All

: I am geting everything together to start building the Guilemot S&G soon
: (plans appropriately scaled up thanks to all on the Design BBS) and have
: been looking around at greenland paddles. I have read several articles but
: they all talk about timbers that are very hard to get here.

: For example, this morning I priced a nice lump of Western Red Cedar - $140.00
: ! :-( Admittedly this was for a 4x4 8ft long which would make 2 paddles
: but it seems a bit steep.

: Anyone else in Oz made a greenland style paddle? What timber did you use?
: Were you happy with the result? etc...

: Oregon might be an option but a bit heavy on the grain (I think it is really
: Douglas Fir and was originally mostly imported from Oregon in the U.S. and
: became known here as Oregon Pine).

: Thanks

: pjr

: Peter Robinson
: Brisbane
: Australia

G'day Pete,

I'm down in Sydney and was in the same boat a few years ago. WRC is REALLY expensive in OZ, though you might want to ask for a quote for a 2x2 piece of WRC, I got a feeling it may be less than half the cost of a 4x4. Don't buy it from someone like mitre10 or hardware house these guys mark up everything by way too much. Have a look in the local yellow pages for a WRC specialist (if you havn't already).

I made my greenland paddle from a recycled 1 1/4" x 9" piece of WRC that "fell off the back of a truck" I laminated the left over bits with some douglas fir (yes, it's just plain old oregon, but bloody strong) and made a euro style paddle out of this. The laminated paddle is much stronger and almost as light as the solid WRC paddle. I give em both a coat of linseed oil each year and they are just getting prettier and prettier with each coat.

Another option is to lookup your local recycled building materials / demolition yard. These guys will probably be able to provide you with a higher quality timber for less than the cost of a new piece. A lot of those old queenslander houses up your way, were made from really high quality timber, in fact the weatherboards (sideing) on a lot of em are WRC and secondhand pieces should be a cheep source of material if you go on and build a stripper (or you could laminate some to make a paddle). My greenland paddle actually has a few old nail holes in it, but this in no way detracts from the look of the thing, everyone says that it just adds character, I agree.

I've also buit Nick's S&G guillemot as my first boat, so feel free to email me any questions about building or local suppliers etc.

Cheers,

Paul