Waterproof Artwork: Malama Paddles

A custom wood paddle is a special thing. It’s Paul Newman showing up in the bar with a Balabushka. It sets a certain expectation, creates a certain frisson. Of course on the downside, you’d better be able to play a little fricken pool.

Whether it’s a Gillespie, an Ernie Johnson Big Stick, a Kinimaka, or a Malama, a paddle made by one of these masters will make you smile every time you pull it from it’s bag. Even more important is the special qualities of wood construction. They aren’t as light, but they are easier on your shoulders and arms. My guess is it’s the damping of the wood. All I know is that as much as I love my Quickblade, and as impressed as i was with the Warner’s tough lightness, my Malama is good to my torn up shoulders. I use carbon fiber paddles, but if I’m going long, it’s all wood.

Visiting Malamas shaping shop (he does his glassing at home) is an experience that reinforces everything i thought about premium quality wood paddles. It’s so deeply natural you halfway expect that he’s growing the things. For starters, it’s housed in a small structure inside his brother’s giant greenhouse operation–the air is rich with oxygen, humidity and fragrance from thousands of flowers.

Inside it smells like a giant humidor–exotic woods, freshly cut. And then there’s Malama himself, a relaxed and friendly man with the deep confidence of someone who makes beautiful things with his hands, and the hands of a man who makes beautiful things.

You look at his face and understand he knows exactly what he’s doing–it comes right through even in pictures. He’s been making paddles for over thirty years.

Malama’s paddles start as rough-sawn planks and end up as spectacular art. In between are some deceptively simple steps, a lot of time, and an awesomely practiced hand.

I kind of expected some exotic shaping tools. Not.

the process starts with handle laminations, sawn from rough planks, precisely fitted and glued.

Paddles waiting to be released from their planks

Clamps and scraps of exotic wood for trim. Craftsmen don’t waste their bits.

Blade templates. Malama makes steering blades as well as paddling, and does traditional shapes as well as optimized progressive paddle shapes.

Creating the handle laminations is day one. He also makes the paddle blade angle core pieces at the same time.

Day two–fitting up angled blade cores and gluing them

Day three–trimming the blade cores, building up and laminating the paddle blades and handles.

He drew these angles without precise measurement, but when I laid a shaft he’d already cut on top of it, it was absolutely identical. I guess after thirty years your eyeball gets pretty good.

The shaft at the bottom is ready for blade and handle laminations

Day four–The glued up blades and handles cure for a day, then they are cut to shape from a template and hand shaped. The complex curves blend perfectly despite being hand formed with simple hand grinder.

Roughed out blade and handle

Malama fits a Koa tip to both reinforce the tip of the blade and provide more grab for the paddle.

Day five–the tip is then hand-faired into the blade.

Every join line is straight as an arrow–no idea how he maintains that with just hand grinding and sanding. Look at the delicacy of that tip angle.

the Stand Up Paddles take quite a bit more work because the handles need a lot of reinforcement

Day six–four ounce fiberglass covers the grip area through the section where the highest paddle pressure will be applied. The fiberglass is hand sanded. Yes, there’s fiberglass on that handle, I know you can’t see it. I held it up to the light and peered at it and I could barely see it.

Day seven–Two ounce fiberglass is applied above and below the four ounce, overlapping slightly. Then it’s sanded smooth.

Day eight–Then two ounce fiberglass is epoxied over the length of the shaft.

Day nine–The shaft is sanded again, then the paddles go to a friend of Malamas who hand sands each one, perfecting the finish

Then final touch up and a varnish coat that brings out the grain and beauty.

Malama can make about five SUP paddles a week. When you get one you’ll be tempted to simply hang it on a wall. Not that bad of an idea, but give it a long day in the water and you’ll probably be hooked. If not, you have the prettiest piece of relevant art you’ll ever hang, for a lot less money than a painting.

As SUP grows and explodes, the access to guys like Malama is going to be steadily more difficult. Get one while the getting is good.

Malama Custom Paddles: http://www.malamapaddles.com/

Lelo Kinemaka: http://kinimakakuiluna.com/

Johnson Big Stick Paddles: http://www.johnsonbigstick.com/

Gillespie Paddles: http://gillespiepaddles.com/