> does anyone have experience making paddles for kids? I just made one for my 7 year old daughter. I measured to the length of her fingertips standing up with her arm outstretched, then added some length for good measure. The paddle will be used for gentle white water and limited touring in a child size white water kayak. It's probably longer than you would want for just white water, but shorter than you might want for touring.

For the shaft diameter I looked at how my hand fit on my paddle shaft, then scaled the size down so my daughter would have a similar fit. I gave her different size dowels to hold and feel to see what worked best. I started out with 1 1/8 by 1" and then down sized it some cause she said it felt too big.

I made the shaft of yellow pine, cause that's what i had in my garage and because I wanted it to have some flexibility. I'd rather it flexed and was inefficient than have it stiff and cause some injury. When I build another I may look around for some ash. I made the blades from mahogany and walnut, cause I like the looks and had some scraps. Weight in my mind wasn't much of an issue, but you could use some lighter woods.

The blade shape is scaled down from an old paddle I had, then modified slightly to give a pleasing look. I just measured the size on my paddle, took the ratio of length of mine to hers, and scaled it down. The blades are feathered 45 degrees, and are mostly flat, not spooned. Once I shaped it out and sanded it, I used spar varnish for a finish. I know it may take some maintenance, and isn't as durable as glassing, but I didn't want to add to the weight with cloth and epoxy. She has used it several times and likes it.

I'd like to hear from others that have made them as well