Long of the canoe

When you are sitting in the boat and the blade is totally immersed, the top grip should be about shoulder high for general and touring use. For white water and more specialized paddling, a longer paddle, especially for the stern paddler, provides more reach and leverage for maneuvering the boat.

Tina's is best of those posted so far. Another way is to hold the paddle horizontally over your head, grip in one hand and shaft just where you want to hold it to paddle. Your elbows should be bent close to 90-degrees. This is still approximate.

Note this measures the shaft length -- the total length is not especially important.

When you are standing and the paddle blade is on the ground, the handle of the paddle should come up to your chin.

Hi. Although this may be aesthetically incorrect, I stopped using a conventional canoe paddle. It keeps my canoe dryer and is faster and more energy efficient to use a kayak paddle. It's also easier on my back muscles and keeps my canoe more balanced for trim. It also is a longer fender for poling, fending off docks, foreign objects and shorelines. I'm just writing about my latest canoe trip.to place in my blog. Check it out if your interested. http://www.captcookrules-robbin.blogspot.com/ Happy canoeing