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Outrigger and Standup Surf paddles --\Youth SUPS are also available. You can get any of the regular SUPs in shorter, narrower versions, and I charge less for them. I don't have a precise scale for that yet, and may not, since the variability is pretty significant. I find that most of the youth SUPs are under 61", and I recommend an 8" blade. These are both lighter, and more wieldy -- I also narrow down the shaft to make them more youth friendly. email with??
This is a great time of year to get paddles for your club. YOU can check out great club bargains at this link...
Club paddles.
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The SUP paddle thing is building momentum, and as an outrigger paddle builder, this fits in very nicely with what I am doing. What I am finding with the SUP paddles is that wood is a great medium; with the added length, carbon fibre is naturally an attractive medium, but as carbon fibre is pretty much carbon fibre, and other than its lightness, doesn't really offer the discriminating paddler a whole lot of what the heck else? Wood has great feel and most of all great flex! Its a natural shock absorber. And perhaps most importantly, its much more individualized. When you get a wood paddle from me, you get something made by me, and that particular paddle is the only one of its kind. My main thing and only thing is wood. I offer hybrid blades. I also do offer the all carbon fibre SUPs, at l9 ounces! -- But wood is my primary focus. Its been that way for over 25 years now. I pretty much know what I'm doing, and its not just an old fashioned crafter thing either. I still paddle a lot, and enjoy the heck out of my own neato wood paddles!
Here's a recent email (this am as a matter of fact!) from a dude(!) who just rec'd his double angle Standard, 8.5" Standup blade:
"Aloha Brad,
I received my paddle on Friday and I must say such a fine work of art! I can’t believe the weight of this paddle which is only a couple of ounces from my Pohaku paddle. I got to use it on Saturday morning and I’m still adjusting to the power that this paddle has. As you stated in your comments about this paddle, the contoured lip eases the entry when stroking.
Thank you again for sharing and letting me be a part of Gillespie Paddles!...."
Hybrid paddles: I do make hybrids, by mating a Zaveral blade with my own shafts. These make great paddles, with the nice feel of wood, along with a desireable degree of flex, and the lightweight carbon fibre blade. The nice thing about flex, is that it has shock absorber value, for those of you who care about your joints, and aren't quite as young and indestructible as you once were!
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