canoe paddle length

[warmfishernc]

What's a good rule of thumb for sizing a canoe paddle?

I use my canoe strickly to fish and only paddle short distances. I bought one paddle already that feels too small.

thanks

[rel]

I know people used to guage the correct length by standing the paddle next to them and the handle should come to eye or ear level. I use this formula and haven't had a problem yet. Ron

[DaleW]

Many years ago we did one of those Canadian canoe fishing trips and those folks there said you should be able to rest your chin on the tip of the paddle handle with the paddle standing in front of you and having to move your head up or down very little. This has been my standard ever since.





Dale

[dudley]

I use a 6 footer so I can paddle standing up

[djo]

The rule of thumb I learned was that you stood up and the paddle should just fit under your arm pit. Real hardcore paddlers, however, tend to use ones that are a couple of inches shorter.

David

[Jayatwork]

Back in Boy Scouts they taught us that with the blade on the ground the handle should come up under your chin. I have used that ever since.

[Big Bad Wulff]

Raise your arm straight up and the tip should touch your wrist......oh that's old, old skis.....oh wait, they should toudh your forehead.......wait, that's old skis. Uh............nevermind.
In fact I used to use 203cm skis and now use 168 cm skis(Dynastar 63s if anyone knows skis......very fast turning skis )

[Joe Hyde]

Warmfishernc,


Paddle length for canoes -- like everything else in sports -- depends on individual needs and tastes. And if you are just starting out as a canoeist then your needs and tastes will change over time. Also, if you end up changing canoes (or adding to your fleet of boats) you may find that having a number of different length paddles is a big help.

My first canoe paddle was a 5-ft. long straight shaft beavertail model, all-wood (ash, I think) made by the Grumman canoe company. The beavertail paddle face was the only design in existence...or so I incorrectly thought at the time. I used that paddle exclusively for sixteen years, to the point where finally the paddle face fractured right up the center and became unusable. But before this damage happened I relied heavily on that long paddle, not just for propelling my canoe but I also used it for probing drop-offs in the small stream where I did a lot of bankline fishing for catfish. (I painted rings around the paddle shaft at 1-ft. increments.)

I switched away from a tandem (2-seat) canoe and began paddling a solo (1-seat) canoe sometime around 1988. At the same time, I stopped using a straight-shaft paddle and began using a bent-shaft paddle. My first bent-shaft paddle was a laminated wood model and it was 54-inches long.

Compared to the narrow paddle face on my old Grumman beavertail, the rectangular-shaped face of the bent-shaft looked huge to me. But it did let me grab a lot of water with each stroke. The power jump was impressive.

A few years ago I bit the bullet and bought two Zaveral bent-shaft paddles. These high-tech paddles are made of carbon graphite and weigh only 10-ounces each. Virtually weightless but incredibly strong. Zaveral ships these paddles to you with no handle attached; this lets the buyer custom cut the paddle shaft to the exact length you want and then you glue the handle onto the shaft.

I'm 6'1" tall. If knowing my preferred paddle length is of any help to you, then my collection of bent-shaft paddles vary from 50-to-52 inches long. Quite a bit shorter than the 60-inch straight-shaft beavertail I started out with years ago.

If your canoe is wide at the seat station, you will need a longer paddle. If your canoe is narrower at the seat station then a shorter paddle works better.

Just for starters, you might try this method:

Put your canoe on the water and keep it close to shore. Sit on your canoe seat in the normal position (or kneel if that's your preference) and have a buddy wade out and stand beside your boat. Have your buddy measure the vertical distance from the water to the tip of your nose. This measurement can be used to buy a paddle that fits you pretty good.

BUT REMEMBER...this measurement (tip of your nose to the water) only involves the paddle shaft and handle; it does not include the length of the paddle face. So when you later walk into a store and begin shopping for a new paddle, be sure to take a tape measure along. Measure all the paddles on the rack, but measure ONLY the distance from the top of their handles to the point where the shaft meets the paddle face. Find the paddles whose shaft/handle lengths match the measurement that your friend took and you're in business. After that it's only a matter of choosing which style you like best.

My suggestion is that you start off with an inexpensive paddle, if for no other reason than to verify that you made the correct choice in paddle length. But if you intend to stick with this canoe fishing as a long-term strategy, then at the first opportunity you should spend more money and buy yourself a seriously good, lightweight paddle.

Why? Because the same thing applies to paddles as applies to canoes, as applies to fly rods: the less they weigh, the more you want to use them.


Joe
"Better small than not at all."

[pdowney]

Do what that Joe Hyde fellow said. If you do lots of 1-handed skulling while you fish you might go 2 or so inches shorter, but his rule of thumb should suit you right. Don't get the glued together wooden laminated cheapoos. IMHO the $10 - 15 plastic and aluminum paddles are the best for ordinary fishin' and weekend canoe trips with ordinary maneuvering and they last forever. The extra lite wt high $$ ones would make a big difference on those insane 70 mile 20 portage trips that some folks do.

[wildernesspaddler]

I would tend to agree with what Joe Hyde has to say. I have spent the better part of the last 25 years with a canoe paddle in hand. I have tried just about every type of paddle out there and I always go back to the more traditional beaver-tair or otter-tail paddles. These paddles have very long blades and would appear at first glance to be way more paddle than I would need. However, the lenght of the paddle is not measured in the overall length but in the length of the shaft. There are a couple of ways to get you in the ball park as far as length and then after that it is personal preference. The first is to straddle a bench, place the handle on the bench between your legs, and the blade should start between your chin and nose. The second way is to sit in a chair, place 1 hand on the blade and the other hand at the begining of the blade and put the paddle above your head. Your elbows shoudl both from 90 degree angles. That should put you in the ballpark for shaft length. From there it is personal preference as to going shorter or longer.