Article: How to Size a Canoe Paddle

[Glenn MacGrady]

This is an article by Marc Ornstein in the Cross Post newsletter of the freestyle canoe organization:

Sizing a Canoe Paddle – FreeStyle Canoeing

I agree with Marc's method for a straight paddle used in quiet water: the shaft length should be the distance from the straight-out-from-the-shoulder grip hand to the water surface.

I prefer several inches shorter for a bent shaft paddle and several inches longer for a whitewater paddle. And, of course, all these shaft length measurements will differ in different seats in the same canoe, or with different loads in the same canoe, or in different canoes. That's one reason why so many of us, especially those of us with multiple canoes, end up with so many paddles. The other reason is simply that we are gear sluts.

 

[Cruiser]

Thank you for posting this Glenn, so tired of reading posts about sizing paddles using the overall length .... which is pretty much a useless measurement IMO.
Once you know the shaft length that is good for you, it becomes much easier to build or buy (if the Paddle Makers/Retailers include the shaft length, which it seems a lot don't).

Brian

 

[Woodpuppy]

Beat me to it Glenn, I came here to post that!

 

[SouthernKevlar]

A tip of the hat to Marc for writing the article and to Glenn for posting it here.
I agree that the shaft length is the most important measurement in sizing a paddle, but nothing can beat actually trying the paddle out in the canoe that it will be used. Remember that Marc is writing about Freestyle solo paddling. I find that when switching styles of paddling or even boats it can make a difference in the length of the paddle that feels right. For me, a low sided solo boat (which I am in most of the time) takes a different paddle than when soloing a tandem or even a deeper solo boat. And the shaft length of a 'hit and switch' bent shaft tripping paddle would not be the same as when I paddle a C1 whitewater canoe and have to make high-leverage cross braces.
I feel that there is not one particular paddle length for a person, but a range of different lengths for the many different scenarios that are found throughout the many genres of paddling. You just need to find the right one(s) for your boat and yourself.

 

[yellowcanoe]

But its a good starting point when you are standing in the store with your mind going in circles. FS demands a possibly longer shaft because of cross strokes like in whitewater but there is a difference; you can shift transverse. In WW you probably ( hopefully) are in thigh straps and toe blocks and cant move around.

 

[SouthernKevlar]

Yep, if I'm in whitewater, I want the boat to MOVE when I move.