: So what is the correct greenland paddle length? I’m tall, 6’-2”, do I really
: need a paddle that is floor to finger tip, 94”?

There is no magic formula or table, but there are ballbark estimations. I'm 5'10" and use an 87" Greenland paddle (GP) with narrow, Greenland-style kayaks. The anthropometric sizing methods are just starting points. Depending on your body proportions the anthropometric measurements may either work fine or be quite off (if you have extremely long legs for instance in the measurement you used). Another common method for length (of a longer cruising paddle) is an armspan plus the distance from the elbow to the fingertip. Another method, which gives identical results for me, is one armpan plus two hand spands (with fingers outstretched). I was recently told of the latter method by a kayaker in Upernavik, Greenland.

The loom (paddle shaft) length is equally important as the overall length. Generally a GP is held not with all fingers on the shaft but with your thumbs and forefingers on the shaft and the rest of your fingers draped over the blades. Many commercial paddles don't facilitate this. For the loom length, one method is to stand and loosely dangle your arms from your shoulders, then raise your forearms so that they are parallel to each other and horizontal to the ground. If you make a "circle" with your thumbs and forefingers these mark where the shoulders (the transition from loom to paddle blades) should be.

A very good article on building a GP is found at http://www.qajaqusa.org/QK/makegreen2.pdf. Additional information and technique articles are available on the Qajaq USA/Qaannat Kattuffiat site at http://www.qajaqusa.org.

There is plenty of cross-over between a Euro and GP, but expect to require plenty of practice before you learn how to get the most out of a GP.

Greg Stamer