A mistake many people (especially those familiar with kayaking) make when using a canoe paddle for the first time is that they don’t hold the top properly. Let’s have a look at a canoe paddle shall we (Figure 1).

Figure 1: A canoe pladdle with its key parts labelled. At one end is the blade, which is the flat surface which enters the water and which the paddler uses to drive the boat forward. At the other end is the T-piece, or T-grip, which is where the top hand is held. These two parts are connected via the shaft, which the bottom hand holds onto during the power stroke.

As you can see, canoe paddles only have a blade at one end. At the other end they have the T piece.

When using a canoe paddle, unlike on a kayak paddle where both hands go on the shaft, with a canoe paddle, one hand should be on the shaft while the other hand is on the T piece, with the palm of the hand facing the blade and shaft (Figure 2).

Figure 2: The paddler's top hand should be held on top of the T-piece, or T-grip, with the palm facing towards the shaft. It should not be held on the shaft below the T-piece, in the same orientation as how a kayak paddle would be held.

This should be obvious, but it’s still a surprisingly common mistake.

If you have your hand on the T piece you have better control of the blade, giving your hands the correct positioning to freely twist the blade, giving you the ability to change the angle of the blade and affect the steering action of the blade. It also gives you a stroke position to drive the blade from the top hand, giving you more power in the stroke.

So when you use a canoe paddle properly, you’re not only looking like you’re a paddler who knows what they’re doing. You’re also getting a far more effective stroke when you’re canoeing.