: I have several purchased paddles, only one of which is comfortable
: to use. I read so many positive things about Greenland paddles I
: want to build one and try it out. Is the loom diameter and shape
: the same as for a regular paddle?

Some of this is personal preference. You could do a lot worse than just following Holst's paper on the qujaqusa site: http://www.qajaqusa.org/QK/makegreen2.pdf
I have a Novorca paddle that is exactly the same shape as described in that paper. I've also carved a couple that work fine.

BASK (Bay Area Sea Kayakers) had a "Stick Meet" a couple of months ago where probably 50 paddles got traded around. The only ones that I thought might be better than Holst's shapes were Alut paddles, those with a ridge down one side only. Certainly there was a lot of variation in materials, laminated or no, edge and end protection, round or oval loom, shoulders or no, etc. But for me, Holst's basic shape works very well.

Strangely, my sold WRC wooden paddle works marginally better than the Novorca. Looking at the two you'd think that they were made in the same mold. The only two real differences that I can see is that the wooden one is not as smooth, and it is slightly thicker at the tips. The Novorca is 3 oz. lighter, a _lot_ stronger, and a wonderfully beautiful object.

For me, I want a longer paddle than the basic measurements in the Holst paper would suggest. Err on the long side (several inches). It's easy to cut it down if necessary.