Help fixing my paddle

[Guest]

I have possible rotator cuff and bicep tendonitis in my right shoulder and now starting issues in my left, I run a 10 foot hydraulic shear and cut between 2-5 tons of sheet aluminum, stainless and mild steel a week. I believe my job has a lot to do with my issues, but of course, it could be the fact I am a 52 year old woman.

I used to work in Wisconsin's Workers Compensation program. If you haven't been diagnosed with a work-related injury or condition that limits you in some way, you might want to consider it. Establishing the connection now can help in the future if (more likely when) you develop a partial disability. That assumes you live in a state that has a decent Workers Comp program.

 

[Mihun09]

I live in Canada and workers compensation is pretty good up here I think, never been on it yet and honestly I have an aversion to using it. Having been a company owner I know how premiums spike when a worker goes on comp. I am planning on getting off the shear in the near future and hopefully get a nice cushy desk job somewhere, I've been in manufacturing my entire life and need a break.

Paddling wise, the shoulder doesn't bother me for the most part, only when hoisting my Chestnut to portage can it act up, but basic paddling isn't an issue at all. I use the "K stroke", which is what I do since I've never had any paddling instruction and generally have no idea what any of the other strokes are, lol. I do try to keep the paddle off the gunwales since I usually use cherry for outwales when rebuilding a boat and it dents easily but is too pretty to not use and lighter than ash.

Karin

 

[stripperguy]

l'oiseau,
How old is your Fox paddle? I am assuming it is a FoxWorx, either bent shaft or straight...All of their new paddles have epoxy resin coated shafts...should be easy enough to add some reinforcement (glass, even wrapped twine) and saturate with epoxy resin. You can get quality epoxy for decent prices at RAKA...
Now, for your shoulder...some of the corrective strokes put odd stresses on your joint. For nearly every stroke, there is an alternate stroke on the other side that can accomplish the same (or nearly) corrections with less stress on those "aged" joints.
For example, rather than that pry on your right, try a draw on your left...Especially since your objective is enjoyment of the paddling and scenery, a less efficient set of strokes shouldn't bother your progress, as you said, you're not racing.

And lastly, for the physiology aspect. We all have some control over how we age. Granted, genetics and accidents/injuries have influence, but a balanced diet, sensible blend of aerobic and weight bearing exercises can go a long way to maintaining a healthy, active lifestyle. Sure, age is a factor, mostly related to length of recovery to injury.
I always say, most people spend the first half or their lives ignoring their health, and the second half being reminded of it...Not to say that describes you in particular, but the days do have a way of sneaking into years!

For me, at 57 years old, I am pleased to be able to mostly keep up with my kids, my nephews and their friends. I still bike about 2,000 miles per season, it's a fantastic way to manage stress and stay in good cardiovascular shape. Some weight training, and then a wide variety of physical activities keeps me young, or at least deceives me into thinking I am!! I used to wrestle, and I was an amateur boxer...I had reconstructive surgery on my shoulder due to recurring dislocations (more than 30 times, I lost count) and I was in a horrific bicycle accident. All of these things took their toll, I'll never be the man or athlete that I once was...but that's OK.
As long as I can still get out and enjoy myself, it's enough.

 

[Guest]

I broke down and bought another paddle yesterday to give me something to use while my other was off being fixed. I happened to buy a bent shaft this time, 10°. It is the Wenonah Black Lite Carbon. It isn't the paddle I wanted but it did surprise me and I like it quite a bit.

At any rate, I found with this paddle that I DO NOT like prying off the gunnels. First I found it was scuffing up relatively easily. I am not an expert on the wear characteristics between carbon composites and ash but it didn't look promising (my usual area of expertise is with steels and aluminum alloys). I found for me, it was best brace my forearm off the gunnel and and use my wrist to control how far it was from sides. Much of this I suspect it the shorter OAL and angle blade. So it just happened to work out.

As for the wood I have been using a 56" blade and I was trying this 52" bent and my wife's 54" straight and I found I liked the shorter strait blade better. According to my torso size I measure up to a 57". I'm not sure the advantage of the longer blade but I certainly could get a quicker and more efficient stroke with the 54". I might get one for myself.

 

[Guest]

What you discovered using the shorter paddle makes sense - it's less work because the center of effort is closer to the fulcrum point. You must be pretty tall to measure up to a 57" paddle (assuming the usual 20" blade). Best bet is to determine your shaft length (I'm talking paddles here, not anatomy) and use that as your referent.

I came across this site about whipping paddles. I might do that with a couple of my own.

http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~burchil/pm_canoe/whipping.html

 

[Guest]

I'm 5'-10" with a 31" inseam. I don't think I'm all that much torso. I'm starting to doubt the sizing they are using at the outfitters and that suggested by the big paddle makers.

I was decidedly slower with the longer stick. I can however whip the boat around easier i.e. I can exert more pressure but I cannot do it as fast, my stroke rate slows significantly with the longer paddle.

 

[oldie moldy]

As one more digression in this fun thread: did you know you can repair some amazing splits and breaks in wooden handles by whipping them with nylon line? The best line/string I've found for this is from Lee Valley, they have three sizes.
You start just like you're doing a regular whip, once it's started then pull tension on the line; let's say you are able to pull 30 pounds, next loop another 30 and so on. The thing is that the broken wood is being squeezed by 30, then 60, then 90 pounds and so on with each loop of the line. In a four or five inch whip that's some squeeze!
I've tried various ways to maintain the tension while I'm doing the wrap; the best so far is to tie one end of the line to a leg of my work bench and run all the line off the spool, I wind up standing out in the yard but the thing is all that line has tension on it and acts like a long spring. So holding the broken part in both hands, I start rotating it and winding up the string neatly. That way even if I bobble a little, the tension remains steady and there never is a chance that I'll get a loop or two that are loose.
If you were able to get some good glue inside the break so much the better. Once I've finished off the whipping then I float in super-glue into the coil of line to finish it off.

Best Wishes, Rob

 

[Guest]

Rob that is interesting. Sounds like a good technique I should learn for a field repair of a broken shaft. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

I'll modify my opinion slightly regarding pry-off-the-gunwale corrections.

Yesterday, I paddled solo on the Moose River in Alaska in a rental Scott Huron 15', which is 37" wide at the beam. It was probably the first time I've paddled a tandem canoe backwards all day from the bow seat in 25 years. The gunwales widened so sharply in front of me that I found myself frequently using the gunwale pry to correct on my Canadian stroke in-water return, especially in the strong quartering winds that were sweeping across the Kenai peninsula. I wasn't worried about damage because both the gunwales and the Carlisle paddle were vinyl covered aluminum.

In sum, I'd say the gunwale pry correction is more useful for me when soloing a wide tandem canoe from an aft seating position than a narrow dedicated solo canoe from the central position.