: However, height is not
: important, as people of the same height may have a different torso and arm
: length. Also it is the shaft length, more so than overall paddle length,
: that matters. So, if you want long, narrow blades, the overall length will
: need to be longer than with short, wide blades.
: Richard.

This I think is good advice. The old song about standing up and arm up and curling the fingers on the other hand is nonsense: it includes the feet and if they are extra long... best stick with those parts that hold the paddle: spine, shoulders, arms. And the boat of course.

What would I do? I'd take a broomstick (minus broom) and sit in my kayak holding it as if it were a paddle: the normal width of grip and then maybe 3 inches of dry shaft on either side of the hands. This would give the shaft length which is the most important dimension if one wants easy movements for the torso and shoulders.

Then the blades are just added to the shaft, and the overall length is the result. It should not be the starting point, right? Doing this "bottom-up" dimensional exercise will probably give you a paddle that is shorter than you might have guessed! But it's worth a try, one can always start with a most inexpensive design if one is not sure.

So I agree fully with Richard when he says: "Also it is the shaft length, more so than overall paddle length, that matters". Match this to your individual upper body, and you are on the right track. Whatever you decide to use for blades is secondary, and depends on what you'll use the paddle for: touring, sprinting, WW, whatever.

greetings,

risto

p.s. Writing the above I had in mind a "euro" style paddle, although it seems that finding the dimensions for greenland paddles also starts at the loom, but due to the narrow shape uses the arm span to figure the overall length, as no fixed shape and size of blade exists, as with the "euros".