It is a common detail in traditional Greenland paddles to make the paddle ends out of whale bone. The hardness and durability of whale bone provides the paddle ends with the ability to be thrust into floe ice without splitting the valuable timber.
Now floe ice is not a marine condition that we see much of along the east coast of Australia but there is still a need to have a robust and durable paddle end that can withstand being unintentionally jammed into a rock oyster colony or used as a fender when negotiating tricky rock gardens and sea caves / caverns.
For my paddles I've used exactly the same indigenous timber species used in the kayak's body - that is Aust red cedar, huon pine and spotted gum.
The lightness of the cedar is perfect for the majority of the paddle's body.
The greater stiffness of the huon pine contributes structural integrity along the paddle's axis.
And the density and durability of the spotted gum makes it an ideal material for constructing the paddle's ends.
However, there is something about incorporating whale bone in the Inuit's paddle that goes beyond sound principles of structural engineering and engages with the hunter's respect for the spirit of the animal that he is seeking to capture and ultimately butcher to feed to his family.
Not wishing to lose sight of this reverential aspect and hoping to preserve the memory and spirit of traditional techniques, I've chosen to incorporate core samples of whale bone within the spotted gum paddle ends ...
This is a prototype study of the technique that I've settled upon.
And here is how it's done.
Core-drilling the sawn plate of the whale bone (that I found at Valla Beach earlier this year).
Core drilling the spotted gum paddle ends.
(Incidentally this timber grew on a hillside just up the road from where the whale bone was found)
Routing the paddle blades and paddle ends.
Ian's hand demonstrating how the paddle ends are securely fixed to the paddle blades using a concealed biscuit and epoxy.
In this image the paddles have been roughly cut to shape on the band saw and then epoxied and clamped together with their corresponding paddle end.
And left to cure overnight.
The next step in this process will be to carefully refine the curved surfaces and edges of the paddles with my trusty block plane and spoke shave. Then the cores of whale bone will be epoxied into their holes and sanded to a fair finish with the surface of the paddle ends.
At least in my mind, the spirit of whales migrating up and down Australia's east coast will accompany me wherever I paddle.
Once this pleasurable distraction of making the paddles is out of the way I'll get back onto constructing the kayak.
