As mentioned in one of the other posts, definitely make the paddle longer than the directions say to. I'm quite short and based on the directions I should be using a 76-78 in paddle. However that length feels much too short. The paddles that I use are between 82-84 in with an 18 in wide kayak. I would make the paddle longer so that they could grow into it. If it turns out to be too long you can always trim the ends. Also the blade witdth on my paddles is usually around 3 in.

: Anyone have advice on sizing a Greenland paddle for kids to use? I'd like to
: make a paddle for my 6 yo and 4 yo to use with a Sea Flea that I am
: making. I'm not sure if I use boat width, height and arm span, or just
: make a rough guess what will work best for them. I'm thinking 15-16 inches
: for the width of the loom, but I'm not sure about overall paddle length
: and blade width. The 6 yo is a bit under 48 inches and her sister a few
: inches shorter. The Sea Flea will be 19 inches wide. I'm also wondering if
: I might be able to use 1x4 cedar instead of 2x4 because the loom diameter
: will need to be much smaller. Any thoughts?