: Thanks, good explanation!
: I tried a greenland style paddle for the first time last weekend. It seemed
: the hand placement was much narrower than I am used to with my regular
: paddle. Can I widen the loom a bit without compromising the design?

Randy,

The paddle shaft (loom) length is a very personal measurement. The measurement that I use it to stand comfortably with your arms loose at your sides, then bend both forearms at the elbow until they are horizontal and parallel. If you make a circle with the thumb and forefinger of each hand, these "circles" mark where the shoulders (abrubt transition from loom to blades) should be. Some folks prefer a narrower loom and use a slight sliding stroke, others prefer something longer. This will be much narrower than standard "Euro" hand spacing (where you place the loom on your head and adjust your hands until the elbows have a right angle bend). Generally you don't place all of your fingers on the loom, only the thumb and forefinger, with your other fingers draped over the blades. Holding the paddle this way causes the top edge to tilt forward, and this attribute is critical to some popular Inuit paddling techniques.

Expect the paddle to feel unusual for some time if you have been using different equipment. There are many Euro/Greenland hybrid paddles out there with very long looms and I don't care for them, but then I am a die-hard traditionalist. YMMV. If you widen the loom, all fingers will be on the loom, so you will lose the (natural) forward tilt of the blades and also some of the orientation that comes from holding the blades.

Greg Stamer