I have been looking into Otter tail paddles for a while now and have searched the makers I could find on the net. I found many that had interesting and beautiful designs.
I liked the look of the one I found on Porter's Woodworking site. 
Though it did not have the tapered tip that I had come to associate with paddles referred to as Otter Tail, I was immediately drawn to the design. I emailed Porters and found that they were out of business. But the guy who made the paddles for Porter's has set out on his own and he could handle my paddle needs. I was referred to Rick who is the owner of Dri-Ki woodworking in northern Maine.
http://dri-kiwoodworking.com/id1.html
I have learned that Dri Ki is Northern Maine for dry kindling or drift wood.
I exchanged a few emails with Rick and found him to be friendly and quick to respond to my questions. Rick believes that white Ash is the best wood for paddles so except for custom orders, that is what his paddles are made of. I placed an order for a 60 inch Otter Tail. I was surprised that he sells this paddle for $29.50 plus $12.00 for shipping to Illinois from Maine. I was very pleasantly surprised at the quality of the paddle when it arrived about 4 days later.
Mine is 60" long, 33 inch shaft, 27 inch blade. blade width is 5 3/4"
I had it out on the Mississippi proper today (dead camera batteries, sorry) and gave it a good work out. It is clearly a whole different animal than my Bending Branches Loon, Explorer and my recently acquired Sawyer Venture. The Dri_Ki Otter Tail seems to gain firmer purchase from the water. I know it is seat of the pants, but going against the current in the Mississippi seemed faster with the OT than with my Loon. Corrective strokes seemed more effective. The paddle really fits my hands well and I got a chance to practice the North Woods stroke recently mentioned in another thread. The Otter Tail is a bit heavier than my other paddles, but not to a degree that I think bothersome.
All in all it is a well thought out and executed design. Interesting attention to detail in the handle, ribs at the transition from handle to shaft and shaft to blade and the blade tip. All these details, I am sure point to the evolution of the paddle. Workmanship is superb. His site says that he buys the white ash logs, dries and mills them himself. I don't know how he can make and sell the paddles for what he gets for them. The Ash has beautiful grain. Hats off to Rick at Dri-Ki.
Mike
Tweet This