I'm wondering if paddle could be attached to punt or raft. That will save a lot of effort from equipping/unequipping paddle or packing/unpacking it from the pack animal
Suggestions mentioned in this thread would be great QoL improvements, I do hope these get implemented. This last one is no different.
Since humankind in general have a natural tendency to choose convenience, barring any blockers, it does make sense for an object that is almost exclusively used together with another, less-mobile, "mother-object" to be stored together.
* Small object examples of the top of my head: even though one have the freedom to store sugar and tea/coffee, most do not. Likewise with toothbrush/paste.
* Transport-related object example: motorbike helmets. In many towns, where it is deemed "safe enough", people keep the helmet on/around the bike, frequently even without a chain/locking mechanism to safeguard the helmet.
I think in general removing extra/unnecessary keystrokes is a good idea on many fronts (anti-RSI, attention span/boredom, new player retention rate etc.).