or, add a rudder 
I paddle about 15 minutes on a side before switching with NO correction strokes.
Thatâs the ticket.
Of course, the rudders works less well in shallow streams, unless youâve got the Kruger type of rudder.
Or better yet,
buy a kayak !
Cheers,
JackL
240 at least
Go with a 240 or longer. bending branches(BB) can make you one longer than 240 and the price should be decent. a BB whisper is pretty cxost friendly and should hold up well.
Double blade
Useing a single blade for all conditions takes a littel work. Once you get it you will love it. Leave the doubles for Kayaks.
Works for me.
I normally double blade my solo but keep a single blade handy for tight spots and overhanging limb areas. I get some drips in the boat but I found this awesome gadget⌠a sponge!! Soaks the little dribbles right up. Mowhawk makes a nice aluminum shaft double blade with real live canoe size blades out on the end. They even call it a double bladed canoe paddle, lest you get caught using and oversized kayak paddle and suffer the humiliation of using a kayak paddle for canoeing.
Yes, it is the beginning of a bad habit
⌠if what you want to do is to learn how to paddle and control a canoe with competence, using the traditional single blade of the Canadian and Native American sport.
If you just want to get from A to B, then a double in a canoe will do just fine. But you wonât be âcanoeingâ, at least as some of us would define the term.
If you want to be a canoeist, donât get the double blade â or toss away the one you have. I tossed the three of them I got in my formative years 30 years ago, upon the advice of a canoe expert, and am darned glad I did.
There is almost nothing you canât handle with the right single blade and proper technique. In upstream wind and/or current I go hit and switch with a bent. I find a short bent is better in these conditions because it can be switched faster. I also prefer kneeling to sitting when I go to high cadence switch technique, though that is probably mostly a function of the hull shapes of my favorite CanAm canoes.
If the wind or current is too strong, itâs no fun slogging away with a double paddle in a weathercocking kayak either. In those conditions, find something else to paddle or watch UConn womenâs basketball for fun instead.
Or, and hereâs a crutch I approve of, get a low profile, uber-narrow open canoe with a rudder â i.e., the dominant canoe of the Pacific Ocean basin: the single-bladed outrigger canoe. I did, and I can easily beat my former and younger double-blading seakayaker self in wind and upstream currents.
I donât think itâs dogmatic, doctrinal or ideological to encourage newer paddlers to focus on developing proper stroke techniques for the craft they are choosing to paddle.
Of course, the OP may really want to be a kayaker. So be it. Thatâs certainly the zeitgeist, but one I hope will change with better marketing, instruction and peer examples from the single-bladed side.
I donât have any trouble
using a double blade to paddle a canoe. But there is one thing I just cannot bring my brain to do. That is paddle a kayak with a single bladed paddle like to crazy foreigners. And stay on one side the entire time to boot. That is madness I tell you.
Also, remember regardless of paddle type and technique used, there are other skills to navigating upstream. Learning to seek and use the slack water will come with practice. Just slogging it out against the current is brutal no matter what your weapon or style.
Thanks Glen
Glen, Thanks, You said it perfecly. I was too lazy to spell that out with my one finger. My double blades have been in the barn for 3 yrs now. Happy Paddling!!!
double paddle
Did you ever hear from anyone regarding your question? I am doing a piece on using a double bladed paddleâŚmost of my experience is on slack water, lakes,etc. not swifter-moving rivers where I still feel in better control with the single. It is interesting to note that native paddlers often used a single bladed paddle for their kayaks but no record of native Americans using a double⌠âŚ