: The Greenland paddle I made for use with this kayak is also documented on the
: same page. I made my paddle about 7' long. I'm used to my Aleut paddles
: which are about 8' long and found the shorter Greenland style less to my
: liking. Specifically my natural hand placement hit spots on the Greenland
: blades that I had perhaps flattened too much and I found this
: uncomfortable to grip. On my Aleut paddle the loom is about 2' wide and my
: hands remain on a rounded shaft for cruising. I guess this is why most
: Greenland paddles I've seen are quite round in this section. Makes for a
: lot of excess wood in my book. I’ll have to experiment further.

Rob,

Where is your hand placement when you are holding the Greenland paddle? How wide is the loom? Assuming that you did not copy a shorter paddle meant for a sliding stroke, your thumbs and forefingers should be on the shoulders (transition from shaft to blade) with your other fingers on the beginnings of the blades. Thus for a traditional SW Greenland paddle you don't place all of your fingers on the shaft (or the blades either). Generally, the shoulders are the only places where the cross-section is nearly round. I am not sure which area you are referring to as having "excess wood", but the fullness of the paddle just outside of the transition (beginning of the blades) allows the paddle to fill the hollow of your palm, for comfort and a secure grip (and also adds to buoyancy). This sizing/paddle design will cause the top edge of the paddle to tilt forward naturally.

Keep in mind that the windier the location, the shorter the overall paddle and loom. Some of the paddles are designed to be used with a full or partial sliding stroke. For a "cruising" paddle, not requiring a sliding stroke, I prefer an 87.5" length with a loom of 22.5". This works out to be a length of an armspan plus a cubit (or just able to curl my fingers over the top of the blade), the loom dimension is my shoulder width (stand with arms relaxed, then bring your forearms horizontal to ground and parallel; make a circle with your thumbs and forefingers, these mark the shoulders).

Hopefully this helps, but ultimately you will have to experiment. Good luck and enjoy!

BTW, "Contributions to Kayak Studies" is a great book, unfortunately I lent my copy away and it disappeared. My favorite passage in the book is where the custom of "consoling" your kayak after making love to your wife is mentioned. The belief was that if you didn't, your kayak would take its jealously out on you by breaking up at sea. My wife still hasn't asked why I keep sneaking out to the garage ... ;^)

Greg Stamer