Arkansas Canoe Club Forums

How does one determine the correct size of kayak paddle blades? I just got a new Bending Branches Navigator and the blades are much smaller. It's a beautiful wooden paddle, carbon shaft, very lightweight, but made me wonder how to calculate the size blade I need.

Thanks
Jan

http://rivrstyx.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Go to the above web site and read about paddle construction.

The man, makes wooden paddles but his concepts apply to paddles in general I believe.

I have a couple of his paddles and they are a joy to use and just admire.

The Navigator is what I would consider a low-angle touring paddle, due to the minimum shaft length of 210cm. Generally, paddle manufacturers classify paddles by shaft-length into "white-water", "high-angle touring", and "low-angle touring", starting from short shafts through the longest. The difference between high-angle and low-angle is how high you raise your off-side hand to get the paddle blade in the water.

The idea between high- and low-angle touring paddles is how much power you want to be able to apply. The high-angle is more powerful, but requires more energy. The blade size is chosen to support the mission of the paddle based on the length. Low-angle paddles will have smaller blades because they are lighter, and the manufacturer doesn't expect the user to want to apply a ton of power. High-angle paddles will have much larger blades to complement the higher force you can place on the shaft.

Werner's Paddle selector is a good way to explore the differences: http://www.wernerpaddles.com/fit_guide/index.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Shep