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Just bought my first canoe today, but it won't be here for a few weeks. I'm having some trouble tring to figure out what size canoe paddles to order as i've never paddled a canoe before so don't have any idea what sizes to get? Everything i've read online says you sit in the canoe and take measurements to determine paddle length, but seeing as how i won't have it for a couple more weeks i can't do that. I figured some of you guru's that have been canoeing for 10+ years could tell me what lengths i need to buy just from letting you know my height? I need to buy a paddle for myself which i'm 6'2 and one for my wife and son (assuming they could use the same length maybe?) She is 5'2 and my son is 4'9 (but growing like a weed). I read on Werner's website where 80% of people use a 56 or 58 inch canoe paddle, but have no idea where myself, wife, and son fall in the percent range? Don't wanna wait til canoe gets here, then measure, then order paddles and have to wait another week or so before i can use it. So hopefully some of you can help me out on sizing please?

a good rule of thumb is if you set the paddle on top of your toes it should reach the bottom of your chin. probably a 58 for you, maybe a 60, 52 for your wife. your son will be able to use the 52, if he gets serious get him a 52 or 54 until he's tall enough to switch to 56 or 58. im 5'8 and use a 56 (perfect) or a 54, which is a hair short. no way in h3ll are you going to both be able to use the same length comfortably.

A search of the forum will yield a number of opinions - there is also a bit of information on our official "paddle" page:

http://cboats.net/paddles/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Once you start getting the boat set up be sure to check out the outfitting pages - especially River Ken's outfitting Tome...

All are accessed via the "Site Navigation" tab.

+1 on that. Also, some other factors can play a role, including: paddling style, ability, and preferred type of water paddled. You may find that one length may be great for you for paddling flatwater, but creeking or playboating may dictate something a bit different. Experience is the best teacher on this one. Luckily, you can probably get by with some real basic (Carlisle) paddles until you figure out exactly what you like and/or need, then you can use the cheap-o's as your spares!

Good luck and welcome to the family!!

+1 on what has already been said, a couple of $25 aluminum and plastic sticks in 54" and 58" would be a good place to start. You can always use spares and your preference will likely change as you paddle more.

Paddle length is very personal and there really is not a formula to determine the length that you are going to like.

What is the boat? What type of paddling you are planing on doing(lake, moving water, ww...) That also is important on the choice of paddle you like. FWIW, I'm also 6'2", and use 56-57 inch paddles... Wing span and torso length can also come into play in the length of paddle and the hight of the seat/pedestal in your boat.
just my 2cents...
Cheers

I completely disagree about using a cheap pos paddle to determine what you'll like. I don't even think I would agree with that is if it was free . I'd skip that step and just get a decent paddle to begin with. Look for a used paddle on here. You can probably sell it at no loss if you want to change later.
56-58 for 80% is right, I'd get one of each. formulas don't mean jack, It's just what feels good to you, and you won't know untill you've spent time with 'em. And then, that preferrence'll change from time to time.

Good info so far! Thanks guys! As far as what boat i bought, i ended up ordering a SOAR. I really looked at a lot of different hard shell canoes, but felt like for being my first canoe and just starting out with my 9 year old son and wife who have no experience either the SOAR was our best bet for being the most forgiving and easiest to paddle. We will be using it for whitewater rapids only. I really liked the self bailing feature that the SOAR offers and not having to outfit it with all the extras like you do with a hard shell for whitewater rapids. In a few years, depending on how things go i'll probably end up with a hard shell sometime down the road... Please keep the info coming as far as what paddles and lengths i should be looking for! What companies should i look at other then Werner that make decent paddles at reasonable prices?

Aqua Bound makes nice paddles for the price.

For a SOAR you are going to want longer paddles than you woul want for a normal canoe.

Werner. That is all. I love my bandit- now that in seriously open boating, I'll probably get a mitchell, but the bandits are great and pretty cheap.

arhdc wrote:For a SOAR you are going to want longer paddles than you woul want for a normal canoe.

Why? And how much longer then what you would normally buy should i look for?

My reasoning for this is that you are going to have more of a reach to the water because your boat is 40" wide and will sit high in the water due to its high flotation. What size did you buy?

Someone else help me here because I have only pushed rubber twice in my life but I think that you are going to need longer paddles more like would be used in a raft. A typical raft paddle is 60" and the guide sticks can be in the 64-68" range. You don't want a guide stick (I don't think) because a big part of what they do is rudder with them but you are going to need longer paddles to reach the water. As a true stab in the dark I would go with a 60-62" for you and a 58" for your wife based on nothing but my intuition (generally wrong). You may want to call SOAR and ask their advice as they have actually paddled these boats, just be forewarned that they do sell paddles so the advice may be biased.

I bought the S12 and i read on SOAR's website they do sell a 3 piece paddle set for their SOAR's. Can be made into two 60 inch canoe paddles or one 7 and a half foot long kayak paddle. I'll do some more research on this unless anyone on here that has paddled a SOAR can chime in with some advice. Thanks for yours and everyone else's advice so far on this.

i would get a 60 for you and a 56 for your wife. i paddled a similar craft once, and was definitely wishing i had an extra 2-4 inches. 58 for someone who's 5'2 would be unwieldy, but 56 should be good for a SOAR. id get: one 60 for you, one 56 for your wife, and one 54 for your son, which could also be used by your wife or son if you switched to a hardboat.