: My GP's are fairly short too.

: If the blade isn't canted properly there isn't anywhere near the power that
: you should have for each stroke and you're working too hard to get what
: power you've got.

Bill's right, technique has a lot to do with it and a canted paddle has much more bite than one that's held perpendicular to the water.

FWIW, I used 90" paddles for years, but ended up going down to an 84" paddle and I like it much better. There isn't any reason that a higher cadence should hurt your shoulder, so there may be some other factor involved.