C-Forum

Does anyone make a cheap break down c blade? Or does anyone have advise on making one from a cheap carlisle or something. There is not much room in my prelude and I'd like a spare for the piece of mind.

Thanks.

I carried one of those cheap yellow plastic paddle blades with a broomstick shaft and a dowel t-grip in the back of my c-1 for years. The wood shaft was connected to the plastic blade with a single screw located below the throat when assembled. A small screwdriver blade was needed the one time I had to go to the spare during a river trip. One of those was found in a pocketknife in my dry bag.

That was about the cheapest way to go, and I am really very happy that it was used so little. Paddling with a cheap, flimsy substitute instead of with your favorite paddle is no picnic. Not only is the fun taken out of each stroke, there is a greater safety risk when your paddle (which is really your first line of defense against drowning) is of low quality and dubious strength or durability. (Just think of all the rapids you would not want to run with an undependable paddle!)

How about cutting a Carlisle canoe or raft paddle about mid shaft? Would that length fit inside your boat? A piece of properly fitted plastic plumbing and a couple of aluminum bolts to go through some pre-drilled holes could be used to reconnect the two-part shaft when needed. You would want to fit the bolts and nuts carefully to minimize exposed edges, and there is still the question of "who has a screwdriver blade" to resolve for riverside assembly.

The best idea, but certainly not the cheapest, would be to have Lightning Paddles make you a breakdown from one of their canoe paddles. That way, you would not have to go to "second best" when you have to go to your breakdown.

You will just have to figure out how much of a blade (length and width) and how long of an attached shaft you can stuff into your boat. Once you know those dimensions, Lightning can figure out where to best place the ferrule to maintain the paddle's balance, a proper grip area, and enough shaft strength.

Checking with Mitchell Paddles about modifying one of their excellent paddles for use as a breakdown is also a good idea. The idea of having a Mitchell as a spare paddle stuffed in your boat seems almost snobbish to me, but if you have the disposable income, why not go first class? You would certainly be able to count on a Mitchell (as well as the Lightning) to serve you well should the need arise to use your spare paddle.

There are also the matters of paddle weight and any periodic maintenance to consider along with cost of carrying a spare paddle. While a cheap spare paddle might seem like a good idea at first, you will be carrying it around in your boat wherever you go. That is a lot of extra weight to haul on every stroke. And, if the spare paddle will require any maintenance, it is quite likely that you will find it to be unserviceable when you need it most. Taking care of (or even thinking about) a spare paddle is bound to be forgotten or put-off many times over the course of a paddling season or two. After carrying that extra weight around for all that time, you really want the spare to work well when you have to pull it out because your best paddle has stopped, for whatever reason, taking strokes!

So, maybe it makes some real sense to put a bit more money into a spare paddle. I suggest you get the lightest, strongest breakdown paddle you can possibly afford. That way, it will be ready for you when you need it, and it won't hold you back every time you take a stroke while it is riding as dead weight. You will likely be able to use your breakdown/spare in all of your future boats, and it will probably be the one piece of equipment that you will own for your entire paddling career. When the cost of a quality spare is looked at over the life of several boats, PFDs, helmets, and yes, even a few of your favorite everyday sticks, then spending some extra money now seems more reasonable.

Having a breakdown is a very good idea. While many c-boaters pass on carrying one, I can think of plenty of places that I would not like to be without a fully operational T-grip paddle!

On the other hand, of course, you could just get a longer, faster boat and keep one of your older paddles stashed inside for emergency use. Even if you had to cut it down a bit, that is about the lowest cost spare you will find.

Atucky
I think others have used older / cheaper sticks as break downs by cutting them in 2 and hten fabbing out a center coonector. I know there some on the net that are specifc like the one shown here http://www.arkatents.com/b525bdcpdl.html and others.
You can also check here - http://www.paddlermagazine.com/issues/2 ... e_38.shtml for an article that lists mostly kayak paddles but I'm fairly sure the companies listed would have a canoe solution too.
I'm also sure a higher end paddle maker will work one up for you based on your specific needs. Might be pricy but when you really need it you would be willing to spend 2x the $.
You can also get a shorty cheap C paddle and just stash it and buck it up if you ever have to use it.
What I did was just kept an eye open for river salvage and now have a canoe wooden shaft that inserts to a kayak paddle blade (with a short shaft) that is roughly 46" when put together. Short yes but it even fits into my play boat. I have not had to use it on the river yet (other than trials on easier stuff to make sure I knew it's (mine) limits) but 2 of my kayaking buddies have had too. Makes for and good time on and off the river after they have to "T-grip it"!
Good luck and let me know if you want details on what I did! It's butt f-ugly but works!

All Acquabound paddles are available as break-apart paddles. The c1 paddles are 3-piece, they fit in the smallest playboats (small enough to fit in the slcey ends of a Delirious) and they are reasonably priced, mine was ~CAN$ 140.

martin

Werner makes the Bandit in a breakdown. They were marked down at an outfitter last Saturday from $140 to $80 Great deal if it had fit my boat. A buddy bought one. The shaft was cut near the t-grip so it would not fit into my Big EZ. It was fine for his Atom though. One neat detail was that the shaft was plugged below the breakdown hardware. That should keep a lot of water out of the shaft.

I used to carry a full sized paddle in the bow of my Cascade.

Another buddy spent some time in a machine shop & made threaded inserts for a Mohawk. I think he cut the shaft just above the blade & epoxied the inserts.

Lendel makes a T-grip which can fit their kayak breakdown. I've not used it, but if you paddle with kayakers who have a spare lendel breakdown, this might be a viable option. The spoon will be a bit funny- half a kayak paddle... has anyone tried this??

I have a robson C1 Rodeo break-down. It's awesome.

Cheers, Jan

I have an Aquabound breakdown. It is awesome. It's light, durable, and breaks into three pieces, very small. It came in quite handy when I broke my other one during our recent cboats "armada" with Will in the Green Narrows gorge.
Alden

Mohawk sells a TAP kayak paddle and a kit to turn the two halves into canoe paddles. I bought that in the smallest kayak paddle they made for use with our kids - we have a kayak paddle and two pretty short canoe paddles that they can use or I could use as a back up should I feel the need.

One thing I miss in decked boats is ready access to a spare. I can think of a number of times when mid-rapid, I either broke or lost a paddle and was able to snatch the spare from under the bags with barely a stroke lost. I never recovered a spare and then rolled in "combat", though I did in practice a number of times.

A friend of mine practiced using some swimmer's hand paddles (pretty small) as a back up that he could tuck in his PFD. They weren't suitable for any distance, but he could handroll easily with them and make it far enough to where he could sort things back out again. I can't remember how successful he was at flipping, putting them on, then rolling...

You just need to use a bigger boat for that, Scott Several of the boats I've procured have paddle lashings either glassed in or attached. Blade up by the bow, T grip near your offside cockpit rim...right in the set up for a roll position. Unvelcro the T grip (aka pull really hard, or pull on the tab I have set up), then slide the blade from under the rubber hold-downs, and you're all set! No losing the paddle in rapids or while rolling either. Looks cool too:)

Back on-topic, I don't carry a spare normally, and really should (usually when I'm boating on harder water (like the Hudson) it's along with one of the rafting companies trips...so I look at it as they carry spares for me...and lots of them!). I do take my most durable paddles on those trips usually, though (Rough Stuff, waterstick titanium (not usualy though...cold and heavy!), or Mitchell wood and carbon). I used to just use my Schlegal, but I've gotten a bit more cautious over the years, especially after reading some of the posts here....

these guys make a cheap breakdown paddle (along with some more expensive ones):

http://www.pakboats.com/access.htm#2

I wrote an article about making your own break-a-part Canoe paddle.

See
http://www.lssd.ca/~bjohnston/Gear
and scroll down to the article link. It is a one page pdf file.

Just last week I took the climbing shovel out of the car and replaced the shovel end with the blade so I'm ready for another canoe season.

Good luck.

Thanks to all who replied. I'm going to research some links and will probably just buy one. I'm sure I can make one that will work, but I want it to work well. If I was just a play boater than it wouldn't matter so much for park n play. I love to run rivers and hate the idea of having to lug out a canoe over the mountains. I've already experienced that in well groomed trails to some putins and take outs that have long, exhausting switchbacks.

Thanks again for the suggestions!

Adam in Kentucky

For those with smaller boats, a telescopic paddle is another compact option.
[img]http://altura.speedera.net/ccimg.catalo ... 080766.jpg[/img]

[img]http://store.catsailor.com/images/produ ... 03_wee.jpg[/img]

Like hand paddles, you can also use them to improve your technique.

Aquabound is making a good 3piece canoe paddle. It'll fit in nearly anything and is pretty light too. Haven't had to use mine yet (and I need to cut it down since it's a 58 and I use a 56) but that'll come.