One of the characteristics of wings is that small physical differences can make large differences in performance and feel. Blade shape and size is only a part of it, there is also blade angle to shaft, twist, swing weight, and probably a bunch of other things I'm too ignorant to know about. If you are interested, I would strongly suggest demoing to find out what a good paddle - for you - feels like. My first wing was a castoff from stroke guru Brent Reitz and I hated it. Kinda the 'standard' is the Epic mid-wing at around 212cm and 60 degrees feather. I would start there and try as many variations as I could find to get a feel for the differences. The Epic small mid-wing is a newer design that is gaining popularity. It didn't seem right for me, but that's why you try them out. Onno makes a highly regarded wing, and there are a number of (mostly eastern) European models around. There are sprint designs, touring designs, small designs, longer thinner ones - you get the picture.

The danger of just getting, or building, a wing to see if you like it is that there are some large variations out there and some are guaranteed to feel just wrong for you. And just maybe all of them are. The only way to know is to try.

As for rolling and bracing, I mostly paddle surfskis these days so my rolling is very rusty, but my memory is that the wing was a solid rolling platform. And I guarantee that no one who has watched me flail my way around SF Bay on a lumpy day has any doubts that you can brace very competently and efficiently with one.

A couple of final notes: one of the primary advantages of a wing is that it enforces good stroke mechanics and penalizes poor form. If you like to go fast you'll probably find one you love, but keep taking the forward strokes classes etc. And if, after all this, you want to try making one of your own, try asking the owner of the design you like if it's OK with them. They just might be intrigued by the idea of a woodstrip version.