Label the Parts of a Canoe Paddle – Worksheet With a Key

All 5 parts on the diagram

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Blade The wide flat end. It goes in the water and pushes against it.
Shaft The long round handle of the paddle. The lower hand holds it above the blade.
Grip The shaped top end of a canoe paddle. The upper hand goes over it.
Throat The place where blade and shaft meet.
Tip The far end of the blade. It takes the knocks, so many paddles have a guard round it.

How this list was compiled: Part names checked on 2026-09-30; a name is kept only when two independent sources use it. (1) Wikipedia, Paddle, text only, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paddle (the shaft, the blade, the handle; kayak paddles with a blade on each end, made in two pieces that snap together). (2) Hasenfus, Canoeing for Summer Camps and Recreational Programs, a 1948 Boston University service paper, https://archive.org/details/canoeingforsumme00hase (the hilt or grip, the shaft, the blade, the throat, double-bladed paddles of the ferrule type, drip cups). (3) A canoe and kayak maker's owner's manual, https://archive.org/details/manualsonline-id-69781fc9-7f94-e6f4-09d5-a8dfc23c46b3 (the top grip, the shaft, the blade). (4) A paddle maker's articles, https://www.bendingbranches.com/blogs/resources/how-size-canoe-paddle and https://www.bendingbranches.com/blogs/resources/kayak-paddle-feathering-what-it-and-why-does-it-matter (grip, shaft, the throat where the blade meets the shaft, the blade's tip, the ferrule that joins the two pieces of a kayak paddle). (5) A second paddle maker's product text, https://archive.org/details/12.-grey-owl-pathfinder-canoe-paddle (grip, shaft, blade, the reinforced blade tip). (6) For drip rings: a kayak maker's parts guide, https://archive.org/details/manualsbase-id-554659 (paddle drip ring), with source 2 and Miller, The Boys' Book of Canoeing and Sailing, 1917, https://archive.org/details/boysbookofcanoei00mill , which both call them drip cups. No maker is named. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry; own work, no maker's model copied. Licence: own work

How it works

The paddle on this sheet lies on its side, grip at the left and blade at the right, with five numbers round it. To label the parts of a canoe paddle, write each number's name on the lines below.

Read the full guide

Canoe paddle labeling word bank

In alphabetical order, to copy onto the board: blade, grip, shaft, throat, tip.

Grip or shaft, throat or tip

Two parts are held. The grip is the shaped knob at the top end, under the upper hand; the shaft is the long straight part the lower hand holds. Two numbers mark the ends of the blade. The throat is where the shaft widens into the blade, and the tip is the blade's far end.

Other names to accept

A class may write handle for the grip, and an older canoeing manual calls it the hilt. Both name the same part.

The ferrule and drip rings of a kayak paddle are not on this sheet. The labeled paddle page draws them.

Questions and answers

What is the difference between a canoe paddle and a kayak paddle?

A canoe paddle has a grip at one end and one blade at the other. A kayak paddle is longer, has a blade at each end and is held at the middle of its shaft.

What are canoe paddles made of?

The shaft is commonly wood, fiberglass, carbon fiber or metal, and the blade at its end is a rigid sheet.

What is a bent-shaft canoe paddle?

A paddle whose blade is set at an angle to the shaft, usually 12 to 15 degrees, where a straight paddle's blade is in line with it. The paddle on this worksheet is straight.