I have an adjustable paddle and want to beef up the strength of the extension tube which is shaped as per the drawing below.
My thoughts are to laminate some carbon cloth onto the inside (can't do it on the outside for obvious reasons!) but I'm interested in the best way I might go about this.
I figure the best way is to apply resin to the cloth and roll it into a tube with a long/thin party balloon inside the tube, insert it and then pump up the balloon to expand and press the cloth onto the inside of the tube (note irregular shape!). I might need to drill a small hole at the sealed handle end of the extension to allow trapped air to escape.
Any thoughts on this or better ideas or traps for young players to be aware of ?
Thanks in advance!
First things first, i'm no expert… but what about filling it with an expandable foam? That can stiffen of boat hulls quite a lot… make it more buoyant as well.
Another option would be to glue in a carbon tube - assuming you can find one the right diameter (make it???), probably easier than mucking about with stuffing wet carbon down the tube...
Or the obvious answer, get a fixed paddle?
Unfortunately anything is going to add weight,and some of the adjustables are heavy to start with
Inserted tube won't fill out to inside so would generate extra weight for strength gain. Agreed on the fixed paddle and it's on the shopping list. I'm more concerned about the technique of the dick on the stick (me) for the time being and will just muscle up with a little extra weight for the time being! Will ultimately keep it as a back up paddle too!
IMHO, from a background of repairing / building boats and masts over the last 40 years, plenty of it with carbon fibre :
1. You'll end up with resin from arsehole to breakfast, with very little of it where you want it. Bad idea.
2. The problem with the shape of the tube you have is that the stiffness has been compromised by changing it from a round tube to a non-round shape. You'll also find that the walls of the round section are thinner than the grooved section, so this adds uneven stress to the tube, increasing the likelihood of it breaking.
I have one of these paddles, plus the previous years version which has the round tube without grooves. The older one (round tube) has a noticeably thicker wall.
3. If you're hell bent on some modification, talk to a carbon tube manufacturer (eg C-Tech) to see if you can (by some slim chance) get an off cut the right size that you can split and insert into the tube. Be aware that you will probably break the tube anyway as you will load up any unsleeved section of the thinner wall
3. Before you wreck it or break it and have to buy a decent paddle anyway, buy the decent paddle now. Keep the adjustable as an intact backup.
1) dont do it , the alloy Will thermally expand more and delaminate from any reinforcing IF you can get any carbon inside .
2) alloy and carbon make an electric reaction in the presence of salt water (hello seawater) and that Will destroy the extrusion
3) i personally would fill the slots on the side with a Uni Directional and put a sock of glass or kevlar over the outside
Select to expand quotelatman said..
1) dont do it , the alloy Will thermally expand more and delaminate from any reinforcing IF you can get any carbon inside .
2) alloy and carbon make an electric reaction in the presence of salt water (hello seawater) and that Will destroy the extrusion
3) i personally would fill the slots on the side with a Uni Directional and put a sock of glass or kevlar over the outside
I would highly recommend what Lats has advised.
He works with carbon paddles everyday and knows his s##t
Cheers but no alloy! Looks like I might be pissing into the wind either way. Best option looks to be to chop off the clamp and glue in a permanent but stronger extension or, alternatively file off the lugs on the extension and hope it still holds a round tube section. Thanks for the feedback guys.
Personly I would say your best option is to not waste any time or money on trying to do anything to it and just put it toward a proper paddle, the cost of carbon tube or cloth plus resin and a bunch of time will soon add up and I dought you will get any significant improvement without adding a lot of weight.it will probably be as cheap to sell it and buy something better in the long run
Roger that. Am definitely getting upgraded fixed paddle no question. Just want to keep this as a back up but make it bomb proof.
I went to a retailer looking for a (cheap) grip for a paddle shaft that was 1" OD. What i got was the retailer handed me about four of the shafts you describe that were all broken and he said i could take as many as I wanted. While the keyway was a good idea to stop the handle turning, it needed a significantly thicker wall. The retailer reckons he got 1 in 5 paddles he sold back in more pieces than what he sold it in.
As Helmy said, get a decent paddle.
For your small task, I'd suggest you try an expanding foam first.
