Making your own paddle is a fun way to upgrade your equipment. It is a fairly quick project. You should be able to make one in a couple weekends. The paddle I make does require a bandsaw, but the technique I describe can be adapted to hand tools.
The plans show how to create the feather angle. While I like a fairly large blade, changing the size and length is easy. Six different paddle blade sizes are drawn out full-sized on the plans. The instructions in my book describe the basic method for making any laminated paddle and includes time saving methods.