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July 6, 2020
The 2020 edition of July 4th found my wife and I at Lake Wazeecha, in central Wisconsin. This is
a narrow winding dark water lake just outside Wisconsin Rapids. It's been a great spot for
our family over the years. This was the first year without kids, instead, we brought along our young
dog, Sula, to act as chief paddle tester.
September 4, 2019
Sandbar camping is a fine thing - especially when powered by wood paddles!
The Lower Wisconsin River is a fine place on the planet. This sandbar is about a one hour float downstream from Sauk City and is across from Ferry Bluff. My wife and I traded back and forth paddling the supCAT boards paddleboard and our much loved family truckster canoe. We took out at Arena, but there is also a landing at the base of Ferry Bluff, just across from this wonderful sandbar. A near perfect Labor Day weekend.
The default kit, available in our online store, is a great starting point for the first time paddle builder. In addition to the clear, vertical grain western red cedar for the blade pieces that you will find in the kit, quietwater also has a wide range of choices when it comes to wood types for the shaft and blade of your next paddle. Walnut and redwood are available if you want to upgrade a bit and add a different look to your paddle(s). Handles are also available in a wide range of wood species, styles and combinations.
A quietwater paddle kit will also work for a straight shaft paddle! Same shaft strips, blade pieces and handle. The form and the way you put the paddle together are changed, but it is still a ‘hands only’ project. Just call if you want to order this option, so I can make sure to get you the best length of shaft strips.
If you're after a guide stick, a quietwater paddle kit will work for that too! This is a custom kit, mostly involving wider (and more) shaft strips, which means a matching form base. Maybe thicker blade pieces too, depending on just what the guide wants in their guide stick!
We are big fans of DIY. It's a great feeling to get out on the water and use a paddle
you made yourself. At the same time, we also recognize that sometimes gifts are the idea
and not projects. So if a completed paddle is what you want, then a completed paddle is what
we can do. This is a custom step and takes a few rounds of email and phone calls. But the
end result is a long package with a completed paddle in it, instead of the raw pieces.
We also offer custom pieces for paddle making.
Different wood types for both shaft
and blade, wider blade widths, and coloring the wood pieces are some of the custom options we offer.