I am making a Greenland paddle and storm paddle.
I’ve got a couple so I’ll just make a list, thanks to anyone who answers!
1: Do loom dimensions include the shoulder? Or is the shoulder considered a part of the blade.
2: I get that for storm paddles the length can be measured based on the boat, but how does one figure out the loom? Ive seen people online say to do a fist length or two, some people say 6-7 inches. How do I figure it out? I am 6ft tall 150lbs and paddle an Anas Acuta, my hands and shoulders are average.
3: Other than the loom and paddle length, should all the other dimensions of my storm paddle be the same as the GP?
My hands tend to rest right at the transition point of loom and blade, so the length of the loom is whatever feels comfortable to you.
For the storm paddle, you need enough room at the loom for it to be comfortable wearing a bulky glove, start with a little longer then shorter, see how it feels and adjust. The coolest thing about traditional paddles is the only “right” answer is does it feel right to you.
I also paddle an Anas Acuta
There are four different portions of a Greenland Paddle.
- The loom
- The shoulder {transition to blade , if shoulder less}
- The Blade shaped area {whether or not it has parallel sides}
- The tip shape
A storm paddle is used with a sliding stroke and is not sized to the kayak, it is sized to the paddler for use with the sliding stroke.
If it is too short, when sliding one hand to the shoulder area and the other hand to the point just before the blade tip…that hand will not stop at that point and will tend to want to go off the end of the paddle. I like blades proportioned the same as my regular Greenland Paddle and only really change the loom length to make a short /storm paddle.
I personally prefer a two fisted
loom for a short/storm paddle
Thanks for the reply! I think I’m gonna go for a fist length and a half then for my measurement.
Thanks you for the advice! I’ll have to measure how far apart my hands lie when doing the sliding stroke. I feel I could get the paddle pretty short then because I don’t usually keep my hands as far apart as my shoulder with +1/2 ft approximately. I don’t have any experience with a storm paddle so It’s hard for me to know how different lengths feel. However When paddling with my normal GP I do slide my top hand up and put my bottom hand on the shoulder so I guess I do a half sliding stroke.
I make my personal storm paddles with the same length blades as my full-length paddle and just make the loom around a bit wider than a hand width. Your idea of a “fist and a half” sounds about right. I made my storm blades slightly burlier in anticipation of it being used in rough conditions and close quarters, where a little extra strength could be an important asset.
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