Beale Paddles is... well, it's only me. I started by carving paddles for myself, with no idea at all what I was doing. It took nine paddles to get one I liked. I had always been looking for something I could do in the shop and sell, so when a friend asked if I would sell him one, the light bulb went on. I sold the first paddle (#14) in February 2002. Karl, are you still out there? There have been over 450 happy paddlers since then! I carve an average of one to two paddles a week, all by hand.

On the home front, Paddle Carving is not my 'real' job; I work for Intel on a compressed workweek schedule. I've recently seperated and moved into an old house in Forest Grove, Oregon. So when I am not carving, paddling, or teaching, I will be fixing various rooms in the house.

I am a kayaking instructor as well. Under Steve Scherrer, I certified in the ACA at Basic Coastal in 2003. Since then I've done the BCU 3 star with Ginni Callahan, and the 4 star with Body Boat Blade and Axel Schoevers. And last year I certified at the Open Coastal level in the ACA with Andree Hurley. I paddle all of the varuios venues in NW Oregon, teaching in the local lakes and rivers and paddling in the estuaries and surf when the conditions are good.