I've been studying up on making a Greenland paddle and have found the discussion on length to be very entertaining. Everyone has a different method to determine optimum length and then some sources just say go with a particular length unless your boat is especially wide (which mine is).

I've never even used a Greenland paddle, so I'm really shooting in the dark here. Any advice? I'm 5'5" tall, the distance from the floor to my fingertips is 83". My Euro paddle is 86" long and I clunk on the sides sometimes of my intro tupperware boat (not so much anymore, but a lot when I first started paddling), a Walden Vista with a whopping width of 30". I guess I need to build my first paddle to use with my current boat, as it will be awhile before I build my sleek wooden one.

I've got an 8' piece of cedar to work with, and am thinking of putting ash tips on the blades, so I've got all the length I could possibly want. Just don't know what would be a good length to settle on. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Of course, the loom length discussion is also pretty varied. With my arms bent and to my sides, it's only about 13" between my thumbs. Is that too short?

Thanks,

Patsy