I had a chance to try my new Lumpy Paddles greenland stick yesterday for the first time. It's a shouldered-stick, 86" long with a 20 ½" inch loom and 3 ¼" blade made from Western Red Cedar. After many conversations with Bill Bremer, the specifications for this paddle were finalized. Bill's suggestions and guidance during the design and throughout were spot on.
It only took a few minutes to get the feel for this stick. After finding the correct canted angle, the blade buried easily and provided a nice even bite throughout the stroke. When using the canted forward stroke with my other sticks, I would occasionally bury the blade too quickly and felt like I was going to pull myself into a capsize. I didn't get this feeling with the Lumpy Stick. This could be because the blade was a little narrower (3 ¼" versus 3 ½") than my other sticks, but allowed me about the same amount of purchase because of its shouldered-design, where my other sticks are non-shouldered. Another change from my other sticks was the length (86" versus 88") and the loom (grip) diameter reduced to 1.1875".
When using the stick in an extended manner, I did have to adjust my hand-slide a little because of its shoulder, but it was not a major hinderance. Returning to the normal forward-stroke grip position was easier because of the shoulder and its feeling in my palm and outer fingers.
This is a beautiful-looking stick that I will enjoy exploring its possibilities in the future.
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