Is Your Canoe Paddle The Right Length?
Here's how you can tell
By Jay Thurston
Would you purchase a pair of shoes that don't fit? Of course you wouldn't. But if you canoe, you may be using a paddle that doesn't fit.
 When I was in college, about 45 years ago, I had a summer job as canoe trip director at North Star Camp for boys near Hayward, Wis. I worked with the canoeing instructor to get the boys ready for canoe trips. We taught the boys how to select a paddle. If you paddled bow, the paddle
was the length from the ground to your chin. If you paddled stern, the paddle needed to be about 4 inches longer than you would use in the bow.
We were wrong. You should use the same length paddle whether you paddle bow or stern. And if you choose a paddle the length from your chin to the
ground, your paddle will be about 10 inches too long. If you use a paddle that is 4 or more inches too long, you can't develop an efficient power stroke. And it can result in your need to work too hard to move and control the canoe.
This summer will mark the 20th year my wife and I have been canoe racing as a team. We have been in 170 canoe races and have observed serious competitors win races by using an efficient power stroke with a paddle many would consider too short.
Whether it's canoe racing or recreational paddling, canoe teams that paddle efficiently and fast always start and end their stroke together. And your partner always paddles on the opposite side of the canoe where you paddle. Also, efficient paddlers change sides frequently. In a canoe race, my wife and I will switch sides after every eight strokes. But that is another story.
Let's get back to selecting a paddle that is the right length to allow you
to efficiently paddle a canoe. I read about a mathematical formula to use that depended upon how far your canoe seat was above the water. That is too complicated and not necessary. If you select the correct length paddle, you will feel comfortable using that paddle in any canoe. Both my wife and I use a paddle 51 inches long and we have three canoes of different design we use in canoe racing.
There are four parts to a paddle: the handle, shaft, throat and blade. Sit
down in a chair and place the handle of the paddle on the chair between your legs with the blade toward the ceiling. Sit up straight and look at the paddle. If you are looking at the throat, the part that widens between the shaft and blade, then you have a correct length paddle.
With the correct length paddle you can become efficient at canoeing. If your paddle is too long, you will reach out away from the canoe and paddle as if you're rowing a boat.
To start the basic canoe stroke, the power stroke, sit in the middle of your canoe seat and plant your paddle in the water in front of you. If you are in the bow, your paddle should enter the water about a foot away from the canoe. Then as you complete the stroke your paddle should just about touch the canoe. If you are in the stern, do just the opposite and begin the stroke right beside the canoe. Your paddle should be straight up and down like a pole. Then pull back with your bottom hand
and push down with your top hand. Your bottom hand should be just above the throat and just about touch the water during the stroke.
When you paddle a canoe, you are planting the paddle and then pulling the canoe up to the paddle. Remember this; it will remind you to keep your paddle in a vertical, perfect up and down position throughout the stroke.
The force of the power stroke is straight down, not back. If you pull the
paddle back too far, with your bottom hand, you will actually pull the bow of the canoe down in the water causing the canoe to bob up and down and, as a result, slow down. When the elbow of the lower hand reaches your hip, the paddle stroke is complete and you crisply return the paddle to the plant position. Bent shaft paddles will give you a shorter and crisper stroke that will help prevent the canoe from bobbing up and down. Thus your canoe will go through the water smoother and
faster. Canoe racers use shaft paddles with a 12–to 14–degree bend. The bend of the blade is forward when you plant the paddle allowing you to begin the stroke further ahead and then to terminate at your hip.
Remember when paddling a canoe, you are pulling the canoe to the paddle. During the stroke you need to keep the paddle perfectly vertical while pulling back on the bottom hand, gripping the shaft just about the throat, and pushing down on the grip hand. If you are paddling with a
partner, your paddle, and your partner's paddle, should touch and exit the water simultaneously on opposite sides of the canoe.
With the correct length of paddle and good use of the power stroke, canoeing will be easier. You will be able to paddle longer and faster. And you'll increase your enjoyment of the sport.
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