Thank you for the responses and PMs guys! We ended up buying a new paddle yesterday evening... The Werner Tybee CF IM. Carbon shaft and carbon composite blades, under $200.
Seems pretty stiff, much stiffer than the regular Tybee. But the weight difference is negligible.
It was funny... I was calling around to the different shops. The guy at fastlane was like, "um... we don't really have any good paddles cuz we sell hobies." I guess when you sell $400 bait tanks, having nice carbon blades is just too much overhead!
I would think you would need a real legit paddle for launching and landing the PA.