: 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.

Patsy , you might consider making the paddle as a process where you carve a first approximation, use it a while, then carve some more, again use it, etc. ...etc.

So you don't try to make it in one go, but first make one that is "long enough, wide enough, thick enough, (loom short enough), etc." and totally unfinished ( no oil, no varnish). Then when you use it for a while you get the feeling "this darn stick is too long (or wide, or thick....)" and cut accordingly: you can spend a whole season indulging in this kind of finicky trimming. You will surely get closer and closer to something that will fit you and your boat and your skills: something nobody least of all not you today can know in advance.

One prediction I'll dare make: if you take this tip on, at one stage the weight will start to dominate your desires, and you'll go over all the other aspects to minimize that.

In the end you may have just a pile of shavings, and a stick broken in two, but in that pile of shavings will be standing one real savvy paddle-expert !