Hi Al,

I didn't notice all that much difference between the longer and shorter paddle. The longer one was 245 cm, the new, shorter one is 235 cm. I banged the shorter paddle on the sheer twice, and I haven't ever done that with the longer one. Twice isn't all that much, but it is a bit more than never! I wouldn't go any shorter than 235 cm, but I am also 6'-6". As far as purely length goes, I probably won't build another 245cm paddle for the simple reason that it is longer than 8', and won't fit in my living room (or any other room) that well. My wife doesn't mind it not fitting, though :)

The first one was 45*, the new one 60*. Between the narrower blades and 60* feather, the wind hardly touched the new paddle. With the old paddle's wider blades and only 45* feather, wind was quite noticeable. I think any feather over 70* will be distracting (and may be hard on your joints).

As far as blade width and blade length, the jury is still out. My gut preference is for the shorter, wider blade, but I'm going to have to build a couple more paddles and use them a bunch to find out. The one thing I did like about my new shorter paddle with narrower, longer blades is that it seemed quicker to brace with.

Shawn

> I will be finishing my CLC 17 shortly, and will need a paddle. What
> difference did you notice with the different paddle lengths and feather
> angle, or was that not much of a factor? Al