Paddles

So of course you need paddles to make a canoe go... And of course I can't be satisfied buying a pre-made paddle, I need to make them myself!  I am planning on making a pair of bent-shaft marathon racing style paddles to use with the XCR.  The pictures show the plan and a full size template I made of half the paddle blade.

My plan is to make the bent shaft using 7 laminated strips of wood (species unknown).  That way, it should be relatively easy to build in the 14 degree bend.  The blade will be made of high density closed cell foam with two layers of carbon fiber on each side.  All in all, the paddle should be very light, but also very strong.  I am hoping that I will be able to work on the paddles in the near future, since they are small enough to be worked on inside.