Wide Old Town paddle

[Benson Gray]

I came home from the Norumbega chapter meeting with an interesting Old Town paddle that probably dates from the 1970s based on the decal style. It is 63 inches long with an 11.5 inch wide blade. This must have been a custom order since the standard wooden paddles offered in the catalogs from that era had either 6.5 or 7.75 inch wide blades. It generated lots of jokes about use in a pizza shop. Has anyone else ever seen another wide one like this?

Benson

 

[Dan Miller]

No, but I do have a pizza oven!

 

[lowangle al]

Nice paddle Benson. It looks like a custom "Maine Guide Paddle" to me. A traditional beavertail with an oversized blade. It's what you need to maneuver an 18 or 20 foot boat with a passenger, from the stern seat. You would have to be pretty tough to use that one.

At any rate it would be a good spare paddle for when the wind picks up or when you want to use a very slow cadence.

 

[MGC]

I have my fathers paddle. He used it from the mid 60's on. When he took his 20 footer out on the St. Lawrence, this was what he used. When he and I paddled Moosehead and elsewhere, this was his paddle. Presumably he learned to like a long paddle to navigate large canoes from his days guiding on Moosehead and the Penobscot. I don't know what he used while he was stocking fires towers for the Maine Forest Service.
The thing that has always stood out to me about his paddle is not the width. The blade is not unusual. What stands out is how long it is. I have tried using it from time to time and I simply can't adjust to it. He was able to use the paddle comfortably either kneeling, sitting or standing. Obviously, it is a stern paddle.
I used to use a wider Old Town paddle. I think it might have been the only wide one in the Old Town shop when I bought it. They were not very popular. I have since switched to a different style of paddle that gives me all of the advantage I need to steer a large canoe without killing my shoulders with extreme resistance.
I agree that this is a custom paddle, but not that it is a "guide" paddle. Guides (as we all should) will try to moderate their effort. Someone using an 11 1/5 inch paddle is either built like hulk hogan, or someone who is not a particularly skilled stern paddler, in my opinion.

 

[lowangle al]

I agree that this is a custom paddle, but not that it is a "guide" paddle. Guides (as we all should) will try to moderate their effort. Someone using an 11 1/5 inch paddle is either built like hulk hogan, or someone who is not a particularly skilled stern paddler, in my opinion.

I agree it would be a killer if it was the only paddle you brought, but as a second paddle it would do all you could ask of it. I doubt it was used by an inexperienced paddler. I think the person that ordered it knew what he was ordering and had a purpose for it.

The paddle is not extremely long at 63" I know Maine Guides like the 6'6" to 72" for standing. Maybe the original owner didn't want to stand and the extra width was to compensate for that.

 

[ALCEDO ATTHIS]

maybe for high bottom -ledge- shoal and strong current , just an idea (or pizza on camp )

 

[Todd Bradshaw]

Around here, somewhat shorter paddles with really wide blades are common for use in shallow rivers where the depth is insufficient to get much of the longer blades of other types down into the water. The photo at left shows a Sawyer B-12 (12" banjo blade) which was a popular style for marathon racers back in the 1960s and 1970s. It was then superseded by bent shaft models, like the two at extreme right, also with short wide blades around1980 or so. With that style of paddling and a low-sided boat I can use one as short as 52" and I'm 6'4" tall. Spending all day horsing a big boat around with one of those Old Town beavertails would really wear out the paddler. We sold a few of them back in the day but being ash, they were really heavy with pretty poor blade-heavy balance.

 

[lowangle al]

maybe for high bottom -ledge- shoal and strong current , just an idea (or pizza on camp )

I agree, but I doubt it was someones dedicated whitewater paddle. It was probably the one they pulled out if they had to make a WW maneuver.

Spending all day horsing a big boat around with one of those Old Town beavertails would really wear out the paddler. We sold a few of them back in the day but being ash, they were really heavy with pretty poor blade-heavy balance.

No doubt about that Todd, but Maine Guides still use and recommend ash beavertails. My backup paddle is a 72" ash beavertail. My go to paddles are animal tails made from lighter wood and are 57" to 60."

 

[ALCEDO ATTHIS]

so , it's what I think ... I have two paddle , like your " bended branches" , but round , it was new calédonian , I baught the two on a flea market in France , it is the family of the seller who do that ... perfect for hight bottom , and the curve is précious to mary with the canoe in indian stroke , and turn faster just rounding your wrest
sorry for the mistakes

 

[MGC]

I used to race with paddles similar to the "banjo" paddles that Todd mentions. I also have some "bent" paddles. These are for a completely different style of paddling where the stern paddler and the bow paddler are hitting with a high cadence and where there is very minimal stern steering.
For white water, the bow paddler takes on more of a role and uses draw strokes and rudders for positioning and quick line tweaks. I have never felt that a "special" paddle is needed for bow paddling in white water, but I do use a somewhat broader blade than most paddlers do. My Old Town paddle I once used is 8 inches wide. My current paddles are 8 or 10 inches unless I am using traditional paddles.
A pizza peel for a paddle does not suggest to me that the owner was particularly skilled. Although they may have been quite experienced, to me it suggests the opposite. People who do not understand paddling tend to try to steer from the bow. A paddle used properly is not a rudder although it can be used as such in a pinch.
I got curious and went and looked at my father's paddles. I have three of them. The two I measured are 69 inches long and the one I did not measure is a bit longer. These are all narrow Old Town paddles he used when he paddled (anything) his 20 foot canoe.
By the way, a typical pizza peel is about 16 to 21 inches wide, so Benson, if you have a pizza oven, you have the perfect tool to service it.

 

[lowangle al]

MGC, it's cool that you have your fathers paddles. At 69" or more did he sit or stand with them? I'm also curious what 20' boat he paddled and if he soloed it from the stern seat.

 

[MGC]

MGC, it's cool that you have your fathers paddles. At 69" or more did he sit or stand with them? I'm also curious what 20' boat he paddled and if he soloed it from the stern seat.

Generally, he sat but he would also stand when it made sense to. His was a 20 foot White. When he soloed, it was generally from the bow unless he was taking someone bow fishing. When he paddled an archer, he would put the shooter on a platform in the center of the canoe and paddle from the stern, more often than not, standing.