Grey Owl Paddle Chieftain Cherry – Canoe

Grey Owl’s Chieftain is a Traditional Style Paddle made from a single piece of beautiful cherry wood. (No Joins or lamination)

Note this paddle goes deeper into the water because of its long and thin blade compared to the more common shaped canoe paddles so is best for paddling where the water is 60cm deep at minimum, as a result you will want to buy a longer paddle than a standard shape (say 2 inches or 5 cm approx.)

Grey Owl’s finest all-around solo paddle with a medium flex. Made from choice black cherry with football style grip and an oval shaft. Cambered blade with very fine edges and hidden plastic (casting epoxy) tip insert.

This paddle was formerly known as the Ottertail.

Features

Grip: Solid cherry wood, football style

Shaft: Solid cherry wood, oval shape, 1 1⁄8” x 1 1⁄16”

Blade: Solid cherry wood

Blade Cross Section Style: cambered

Tip Material & Style: a Hidden insert of casting epoxy for durability

Overall Length: 58” 60”
Shaft Length: 32 ¾” 34”
Blade Length: 25 ½” 26”
Blade Width: 5 3⁄8” 5 7⁄16”
Blade Area (sq in): 112 116
Average Weight (oz): 25 26.5
Usage: solo and tandem deep water paddling (2’ – 2 ½’ minimum)

One of Grey Owl’s best selling one piece paddles, likened to the ones used by the ‘Voyageurs” who travelled across the Americas.

Made from a single piece of Cherry wood in Canada this is a beautiful paddle to look at, hold and paddle with.

Note this paddle is made from natural wood, variations in colour and pattern do occur although pictures are of an actual chieftain paddle your paddle will be an individual unique paddle and will look a bit different to the one pictured (unless you bought the one pictured)

Best suited for solo and tandem deep water paddling (2’ – 2 ½’ (60cm) minimum recommended)

Note being a single piece the length you choose will be typically longer than if you have a “standard”  or bent shaft paddle, See below for more details.

Sizing your Recreational Paddle
Regardless of the model of straight or bent shaft paddle you have selected, the overall length should be determined by the shaft length from the top of the grip to the throat of the paddle.

The following formula applies: the shaft length should equal the distance from ones shoulder to the water line of the canoe. This will allow you to paddle below your eyes with your upper hand while keeping your lower hand close to the throat.

To determine the approximate length sit erect on a flat hard chair or the floor and measure the distance from the surface to your chin. Add 6” for the approximate distance the canoe seat would be from the waterline. Thus a person whose chin to chair measurement is 26” would add 6” to arrive at a 32” shaft length. Looking at the specifications of our various models you would find that you would probably use a 50” Touring Bent Shaft, a 54” Voyageur or a 56” Chieftain. A one or two inch variation would not have much effect in usage so try for the closest shaft length for the model chosen. Remember to consider that canoe seat heights vary as might a ‘comfort range’ that you might feel more suited to.

The only exception to this rule would be paddles similar to  Grey Owls Hammerhead paddle or other white water paddles. A completely different technique is used for white water canoeing and you may end up adding approximately 12” to your chin to chair length.