Do You Love Your Canoe Paddle?

Some of you must! This is the only reasonable explanation of why some paddlers will, year after year and mile after mile, keep swinging the same old war club. Take a look at that old paddle. Do you know the amount of work that is done with a paddle on an average trip?

...Carl W Handel (author of a book entitled canoing) "The average paddler takes about 25 to 30 strokes a minute, 400 to 450 per mile, 1300 per hour, on a long day about 12,000 to 16,000." He figures this is equal to shoveling coal on a passenger train for a 350 mile run. I know that canoing shouldn’t be compared to shoveling coal, but it does make one stop and take a second look at his equipment, if he is going to do much work with it. As our author goes on to say , under these conditions such small matters as weight, balance, varnish, spring, shape and grip are very important.

(Ed note - I have shoveled coal, I’d rather paddle. A racer usually paddles 50 to 60 strokes a minute - play with some math.)

(Jensen goes on to talk about length of the paddle as several other paddling authorities advise)

The rule I use to judge what length of paddle I plan to use is first to get some idea of what kind of canoe I plan to paddle in. If it is a stock model like a Grumman or some similar type that will sit relatively high in the water, then paddle about 60 or 61 inches long or up as high as maybe 66 inches in order. If the canoe is a low racer, then a paddle about 53 or 54, up to 56 inches will do.

The important thing is to bury the paddle over the blade when in the middle of a normal stroke. If you don’t bury the whole blade, then take your pocket knife and whittle off the part that you do not use. There is no use carrying extra lumber around, unless of course you are a weight lifter, or are overweight. . . .

(Jensen mentions the shaft (wooden). Many stores sell paddles 3/4 inch thick - he recommends at least 1 1/4 thickness. - often a thinner shaft is heavier wood, thus heavy and clumsy.)

All authors seem to agree that spruce is the best material for a paddle, with maple running a close second. A good canoe paddle can cost anywhere from two to fifteen dollars depending upon the type of paddle you want. ... A good, well made canoe paddle will last you from five to fifteen years. And considering the fact that you have your hands wrapped around it mile after mile and hour after hour, it would be well to choose your paddle as carefully as you would a wife or husband.

canoing is incurable. so get a paddle that will make paddling more enjoyable, and one that will last a while.

(Ed note: This article was written before bent shaft paddles and before lightweight carbon; fiber paddles - alternatives to consider. We hate to see what inflation has done to the cost of a good canoe paddle - but as Jensen implies a good paddle is well worth the cost.)