Paddle ID?

mccloud

"Tiger Rag" back on the tidal Potomac
In Memoriam
There has been a large, heavy paddle in the basement closet for something over 30 years. I don't remember where I got it, and only used it a couple times because it is just too heavy. It is one-piece, solid wood, probably ash, 64" tall by 8" wide blade. There was a hole drilled in the top of the handle, and there is something shoved down in there that looks like it might be a black plastic donut. My guess is that a hook went into that so the paddle could be dipped in varnish and hung to dry. Can't imagine why anyone would want such a beast of a paddle unless he intended to pole with it. The tip was pretty badly beat up, and there were some nicks off the sides of the blade. There were no marks, decals or anything on it that tells me who the maker was. So recently I decided to make it usable by cutting it down. About 3 inches up from the tip someone had drilled 4 small holes and bolted a 1 x 4 piece of steel across both sides of the blade, obviously intended to prevent a crack from running up the blade. When I removed the steel, to my surprise there was a small piece of a white paper label remaining underneath. Printing is in red ink, some sort of design that I can't tell what it is, but in block letters is printed "VIKING SIZE". Well, that certainly fits the feel of this paddle. Does this bit of information jog anyones' memory? Who would have been the maker of this paddle? Tom McCloud
 
Why cut it down to size? "There is rest and healing in the contemplation of antiquities," as Mark Twain wrote.

Also, it's probably easier to just make a new one, and it would probably last longer...
 
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