On 2-May-2005, "Julia De Silva" wrote:

1. What's a guide to the correct length ?

Decide on how you paddle the most - i.e. kneel, sit etc.
Get into that position and measure the distance from your
shoulder to the water surface. This is the length of the
paddle shaft. You may find you prefer an inch or two up
or down from that.

Then choose whatever blade style you like and add the length
of that.

Always size based on the shaft length, not overall length.

See if you can rent a couple of paddles to get a feel for
them before you buy.

2. Which wood is best ?

Stay away from the cheap pine paddles. After that, there's
lots of choice. Hardwood will last longer and oil finished
paddles are easy to maintain. Black walnut looks cool to
some, while others prefer a light maple.

3. Which design / make of paddle is best ?

As far as design - that's highly personal. I prefer otter
tail, myself. For WW, I preferred a shorter, wider paddle.

As far as make goes - there are lots of good brands. Look
around and skip the cheapest.

Mike