Wooden oar/canoe paddle as guestbook?

Love the idea. I would worry if they were unfinished that the sharpie may bleed some when used. Maybe a seal and then reseal afterward. Might be worth testing on a spot (bottom) before you actually finish.

You need it unvarnished for signing. Otherwise the marker will smear everywhere.

I love to canoe/kayak. I love love love this idea.

Thanks ladies!!! We LOVE the water....kayaking, fishing, snorkeling....love it all! So we're doing a nautical theme I will order the unfinished ones and give it a try. If it smears we'll figure something out! Haha

The "raw" wood shouldn't smear. Will you varnish it later? If you do, check to see if the varnish will do anything to the writing.

Good thinking CrystalS! Yes, I will probably want to varnish it later to seal the writing. I think the signatures would hold up better if varnished? I will definitely try a little test spot before doing the whole thing. Totally new to this though so pretty clueless! Haha

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There are people who do handcrafted bowls and things. Sometimes there is a design painted before they seal them. I would bet you could ask around there.

Awesome! I will see what I can find out Thank you so much!!!

Oh WOW!!!! That sounds awesome!! I wonder if I have any crafty friends that could try this....hummmm!

Oh my God, my dad is obsessed with oars. He finds them on Craigslist and even picks them up after they have washed up on shore at our river house. I think it's a neat idea!

My future brother in law just made a canoe paddle using red cedar (so pretty!). He put a clear sealer on it of course, but I think letting guests write on the "raw" wood would be perfect. Then, you could put something over the signings. Please post pics if/when you do this!

I think this is a good idea! You can sign on finished wood... I worked at a camp as a lifeguard and one of the first days, a few days before the campers came, one of us broke a canoe paddle. We decided to all sign it and then nailed it up in the lifeguard shack (our little "office").