How to Build Kayak Paddles

Creating your own kayak paddles will allow you to save money and take pride in your own work. To get started, visit your local sawmill or lumberyard to find a standard two-inch-by-four-inch square piece of spruce that is free of knots, bends and any type of deformation. Spruce is the correct weight and is easy to work with. Pine, Douglas fir and cedar will also work. You’ll also need a thin piece of plywood. Once you collect your materials, you are ready to begin.

Things You'll Need

  • Spruce
  • Saw
  • Bandsaw or jigsaw
  • Pencil
  • Block plane
  • 220 grit sandpaper
  • 2 12-inch x 18-inch carbon fiber sheets
  • Scissors
  • Thin plywood
  • Epoxy
  • Paintbrush
  • Weights or clamps
Show More

Instructions

    • 1

      Saw the piece of spruce until it is about 1 3/8-inches wide, 1 1/2-inches thick and eight feet long. This is the shaft for the paddle.

    • 2

      Use a bandsaw or jigsaw to cut flat curves on each side of the shaft for the blades. The curves should be as long as you decide to make your blades, and they should be as curved as you like. Some kayakers prefer straight blades, some curved.

    • 3

      Draw a straight line 3/8-inch from each of the four corners of the shaft, not including the flat curves made for the blades. When you’re done, you will have eight lines, one line on each side of each corner. Remove the corners down to the lines with a block plane until all the corners have been removed.

    • 4

      Continue to remove corners in this way until the shaft becomes circular. Sand the shaft with 220-grit sandpaper until the shaft looks rounded and smooth. Apply two layers of epoxy to this circular part of the shaft.

    • 5

      Cut blade shapes into carbon fiber sheets with a scissors, making the blades as long and wide as you like. A standard length is 20 or 23 inches long, and the width can be from five to eight inches wide. Place these shapes onto a thin piece of plywood and cut the plywood to the shape of the carbon fiber.

    • 6

      Apply a layer of epoxy to the pieces of plywood with a paintbrush and attach the carbon fiber to the plywood. Apply a layer of epoxy to the curves in the shaft. Before the epoxy can dry completely on the blades, attach the blades to the curves in the shaft. Hold them in place with weights or clamps until they dry.