Paddle shaft repair

[Cruiser]

Likely late to the party for this one, but I just added paddle making to my list and I had bought a couple of books, the one by Warren and Gidmark has a section on repairing broken shafts.
I remembered reading it, because at the time I thought it was just plain clever how they suggested the repair.

I will try and explain without pictures ( I don't have any, except the hurried sketch). Basically, they cut an arc that intersects the shaft centre ( at the break point) and extends 3-4" beyond the break. Once 1 side is done, repeat the process on the other side.



You can use different wood(s) to jazz up the repair to make it look like a feature, use similar wood to make it blend. Depending on the paddle use and type, you can extend the repair arc as required for strength or even artistic impact.

Overall I thought it was a really good repair technique.

Brian

 

[Guest]

Likely late to the party for this one

I am late to the party as well. My first thought on seeing that jagged break was to clean it up with a scarf joint, even if that meant losing some shaft length, and then wrap it fiberglass/peel ply, sand and varnish.

Actually my second though was to drill a couple of inches into each half of the shaft and insert some kind of stiffening pin (hard wood dowel, slender steel rod, etc), and then epoxy, glass, etc.

Years ago a seller threw in some paddles with a used canoe, including a couple of old but pristine Clement 229T’s and a very nice Sawyer. The monster 9 x 21 square tip blades on the Clements made my wrist hurt just looking at them, but the Sawyer was quite to my liking.

Except that it was missing a largish piece along one blade edge, largish meaning 2 inches wide by the length of the blade, snapped off leaving a nearly straight edge. I stuck the Sawyer aside in the “someday” pile.

Someday eventually arrived when I found a broken wood paddle blade on a day trip. The shape and profile was a near perfect match for the Sawyer. I planned down the break on the Sawyer and cut a matching 2” wide slice off the broken blade.

Before epoxy and glassing that replacement slice onto the Sawyer I drilled an inch or so into each blade piece and inserted a very slender rod into those pin holes, once near the top of the break and once near the bottom.

I don’t know if the pins helped or not, but they didn’t hurt. I carried that Sawyer as a single/spare occasionally, but was always kinda leery of depending on a once broken paddle as my only back up.

A friend borrowed it a couple of times and loved it, so I gave it to him. That was at least 10 years ago and he is still using that stick on a weekly basis.

I have no practical knowledge if a similar pin would strengthen a broken shaft, but it seems likely. Folks who DIY their own paddles may have some rational for or against.

BTW, major props to DIY paddle makers. I have made a couple from scratch and while it was educational I have had more fun and better results repairing or reshaping damaged sticks, including some esoteric what’s left of the blade reshapings. I still glance at yard sales for old paddles.

 

[TrailBlaser]

Hi everyone, o​​​​​n a recent canoe trip, my son-in-law's paddling technique damaged my bent shaft paddle that I have had since 1988. Any suggestions on how to repair it would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Canotrouge]

Hi everyone, o​​​​​n a recent canoe trip, my son-in-law's paddling technique damaged my bent shaft paddle that I have had since 1988. Any suggestions on how to repair it would be greatly appreciated.

Hard to say for sure w/o seeing it in person, but look like mostly finish damage, I would sand and refinish!!

 

[TrailBlaser]

What would you suggest for refinishing? I have no experience with repairs. Thanks for your help.

 

[Canotrouge]

What would you suggest for refinishing? I have no experience with repairs. Thanks for your help.

I would sand smooth and really varnish with spar varnish, maybe 3-5 coats!

 

[TrailBlaser]

Thanks so much Canotrouge. Can I get that kind of varnish at Home Depot or a hardware store or is it a specialty varnish that I need to get elsewhere?

 

[Canotrouge]

Any hardware store should have some, minwax helmsman spar varnish is good enough!!

 

[TrailBlaser]

Great, thanks very much!

 

[TrailBlaser]

Thanks so much for your advice. I sanded it and put a some coats of varnish on it. It is sealed but the damaged part is not at the same level as the rest of the paddle surface. I can't help but thinking that it should be patched with something (I don't know what or where to get it) rather than just varnished. It is really too bad this happened; I have had that paddle since 1988 and it has been used for many miles.

 

[Canotrouge]

So I will show you a way that I patch a few paddles that were actually cracked.... I’ll take picture tomorrow and post them here!! It is a bit a work but the result is fantastic!! stay tuned !!

 

[TrailBlaser]

Thanks, much appreciated!

 

[Canotrouge]

So here is how I fix cracked or damaged paddle shafts! I cut out the damaged part in a “moon crescent” Way and then I cut thin strips of the wood to be use for the repair that then get laminated with epoxy into the “crescent” clamped down and after it is cured shape as desired and refinish!!