Converting 2 piece paddle to 1 piece

[3PinGrin]

Anyone ever convert a 2 piece touring paddle to 1 piece? Any regrets on not being able to adjust the feather? I have a Carlisle Expedition fiberglass paddle that I really like but it has some wobble in the ferrule/spring button. I was thinking about epoxying it together to make a 1 piece. I haven't done a ton of kayaking, but am set up for day tours on western rivers/lakes. I prefer zero feather for now, but wonder if I may want to switch to 60 degrees at a later date. The feathered setting feels pretty weird right now. The only options are either 0 or 60, but tempted to just epoxy it together at 0 and call it good. Not sure if some people switch back and forth on feathering or just stick with what they like all the time......

[XXX-er]

I have chopped down a 1 piece 90 degree old school 210 ww paddles and epoxied it together to make a 30 degree 194, there is not much strain on the center of a paddle shaft so all you need is 5" of hard wood dowel.

But if you already have a ferral I would think a bout trying to shim out some of the slop with a wrap of tape or something

Because there isn't much strain at the center of a paddle you can keep it together with a wrap of ductape until you figure out what you want at which point you could epoxy it or just keep using ductape

[3PinGrin]

Thanks xxx-er, might give the tape a go. Do you find yourself switching back and forth on feathering depending on wind, etc., or is it more of a find what you like and stick to it sort of thing?

[XXX-er]

I use Werner paddles for both WW and flatwater, Werner uses a really nice center ferrule that is adjustable in 15 degree increments that will likely never develop slop like those hole n button connections.

for seakayak I'm using a 220cm CF Kalliste & a Skagit for backup which are designed for a low angle stroke, I usually just set them at 15 and forget it

I had a 230 perception but the extra length/size of blade was tiring & hard on the body

[Tye 1on]

I like XXX'er's idea of setting it at 15 or 30 then gluing it. Having spent years with a lot of feather, I probably couldn't paddle a flat paddle fifty feet. I wouldn't worry about a little slop in the ferrule for a while either,
maybe keep the adjustability for bit. Good chance you'll end up buying a good paddle if you enjoy the sport after a year or so...

[XXX-er]

IME its easier to to go from 90 or 45 to zero feather than it is to go the other way from low feather back to 90, also I couldn't get a offside WW roll with a 90 feather paddle, it eventualy came when I started using low feather paddles, even if you are not roling low featehr is easier on your wrists so I am an advocate for low featehr paddles

I chopped and reglued a 1 piece WW paddle becuz I was trying to modernize an old school paddle and WW paddles are 1 piece for strength, In the OP's situation I think I would try to keep the ferrule but shim some of the slop out with ductape or electricians tape on the shaft in the ferrule

So its not that hard to glue a paddle with 24hr epoxy, you need to shim the slop out of the joint before glueing and the trick might be to keep the shaft straight while curing. I used a B&D workmate to keep everything straight during the cure, I finished the joint with a big piece of electrical heat shrink which I put on before gluing the 2 pieces together

if you only have 1 paddle consider you should really have 2 especialy if you are doing over night touring cuz if a paddle breaks yer fuct so this might be a good time to consider buying a new paddle and keep this one as a spare, if you do buy a new paddle they are all different so try and buy from somewhere you can back to back test paddle a few

[3PinGrin]

Thanks for the input guys. I have a velcro idea to provide more feather adjustments that I will work on later and throw some pictures up. I have a bending branches whisper for backup. I know this carlisle is far from top end but it's a lot stiffer and lighter than the bending branches and it was pretty easy to justify buying a $200 paddle on sale for $130 than spending north of $300 (for now at least). I also like that it is bright yellow and highly visiible for when I am on bigger water with motorboats buzzing around. I have only seriously started paddling this summer but really enjoying it as a switch up to mountain biking (especially with the forest fire haze). The kayak is a dagger stratos which I have been liking a lot.

[Brownski]

If you do it, I’d suggest just using a ton of rubber cement so that you can get it apart again if you change your mind. A serious epoxy would be irreversible probably.

[3PinGrin]

If you do it, I’d suggest just using a ton of rubber cement so that you can get it apart again if you change your mind. A serious epoxy would be irreversible probably.

Well, yeah, that was the idea, find a preferred feather angle and set it permanently. I don't think rubber cement would be a good option if I set the feather outside of the pre-configured push button holes.

So I got a good 7 mile paddle in yesterday with some strong headwinds on the Missouri river. I'm not a great judge of wind speed but there were a few white caps, a storm cell moving through, and lightning. So..... that seems strong enough for a test to me. I used some velcro to allow for a range of adjustable angles to try. Even with all that crap attached this paddle is almost 5oz lighter than my bending branches. What I found with the preset 60 degree angle is my right wrist was definitely feeling strain after 10 minutes of paddling. It did make for a very noticeable difference with wind effect on my raised paddle though. After paddling the various configured feathered angles for a while (switching back and forth), the 0 degree setting seemed like a lot more work if dealing with a headwind. With some more experimentation ~ 30 degrees seemed like the sweet spot if I opt for feathered. it seemed to help in the wind and the wrist strain, although noticeable, was minimal compared to 60 degrees. However, outside of the wind, I much prefer a 0 degree setting as it just seems more intuitive and more symmetrical from a biomechanics perspective. However, I'm sure that's a common newbie sentiment and I'm sure my paddling technique has a lot to do with that. I am using my lower back, stomach, and obliques while trying not to bend my elbows much, but still suck I'm sure. Also, 7 miles with wind was a lot of effort for this greenhorn and my technique got pretty sloppy for the last mile or so.

I'm going to play around with various settings some more before I decide where to set it permanently. Thanks again for input.

[3PinGrin]

I chopped and reglued a 1 piece WW paddle becuz I was trying to modernize an old school paddle and WW paddles are 1 piece for strength, In the OP's situation I think I would try to keep the ferrule but shim some of the slop out with ductape or electricians tape on the shaft in the ferrule

That was my next step, but have realized that 60 degrees is really too much for my wrist which already has some issues.

So its not that hard to glue a paddle with 24hr epoxy, you need to shim the slop out of the joint before glueing and the trick might be to keep the shaft straight while curing. I used a B&D workmate to keep everything straight during the cure, I finished the joint with a big piece of electrical heat shrink which I put on before gluing the 2 pieces together

if you only have 1 paddle consider you should really have 2 especialy if you are doing over night touring cuz if a paddle breaks yer fuct so this might be a good time to consider buying a new paddle and keep this one as a spare, if you do buy a new paddle they are all different so try and buy from somewhere you can back to back test paddle a few

Solid advice, thanks. Packed my BB as a spare yesterday.

[XXX-er]

wtf are you talking about, shouldn't you be trying to spam us ?

[XXX-er]

Fuck off