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Broken Paddle :(

Posted: Sun Oct 29, 2006 3:19 am
by squeakyknee
I snapped my all wood Mitchell today about 5" up the blade. Luckily there was enough left to roll up and finish running Goshen.
Any thoughts as to repair?
Is it worth sending back to Mitchell with that much of the blade damaged.
I'm super sad cause I loved that paddle :(
Guess I'll have to go back to my flexy/crappy Nantahalas for awhile...

Posted: Sun Oct 29, 2006 4:51 am
by Mike W.
Call Mitchell on Monday. You need an RA# for any shipments to them. They are great folks to deal with. With mine, all I did was loose the aluminum insert after several years of shoving off of rocks & beating other rocks into submission. Peggy gave me an RA# & I sent it to them. It was obvious abuse. They replaced the insert, redid the carbon on ~1/3 of the blade, shortened & refinished the wood for a VERY reasonable cost :D

What in the world did you do to snap it 5" up the blade? :-?

Be sure to ask what specials they have. They don't always list everything on the web-site. By doing this I managed to pick up a curved Premier with a smooth carbon shaft.

Posted: Sun Oct 29, 2006 10:34 pm
by squeakyknee
Mike W. wrote:

What in the world did you do to snap it 5" up the blade? :-?
Maybe the Wheelboy wasn't the best choice for thi run...
Here's a visual aid to help you out :lol:
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/scalex/de ... pg&.src=ph
#1. Nasty pourover, usually a boof here, but too poofy today.OOops..I went through the V just left of the hole, Squirted and was tossed into hole #2 just down stream and out of the pic..
a mild beatdown insued: setup,roll,beatdown,setup,rock,setup,beatdown,setup,roll,Out of the hole thank goodness!!
I then watched as Dave Stockdill droped his big red BlueHole into the same hole. It sank him immediately. he went about 3feet straight down then flipped over. Pretty crazy to see. He made an amazing self rescue and was back in his boat in less than 45 seconds! Try that yakers :P

Mitchell paddle

Posted: Mon Oct 30, 2006 4:47 pm
by billcanoes
Shawn Mitchell should be able to take care of it-

Bill

Posted: Tue Oct 31, 2006 4:57 am
by squeakyknee

Posted: Tue Oct 31, 2006 2:44 pm
by sbroam
Broke? Looks like you've got a spoon blade now.

Posted: Mon Nov 20, 2006 2:26 pm
by Ken D
That looks a lot like my wife's paddle! We sent it back to Mitchell and told them if they could not repair it to just build a new one. We got it back a few weeks later repaired :P for what I thought was a very reasonable price.

I also just sent back a wood shaft/carbon blade that had a delaminating shaft. It was about 4 to 5 years old. They called me and said that this was a manufacturing defect and they would repair it at no cost.

These people are really great when it comes to standing behind their products.

Ken

Posted: Mon Nov 20, 2006 8:32 pm
by squeakyknee
Now if I can just get them to reply to my E-mails and calls........

Posted: Tue Nov 21, 2006 6:32 pm
by Ken D
If you are comfortable with it, I have sent the paddles back to them with a note taped to the blade indicating the work I would like them to do, my contact info and method of payment. They typically called me before doing any work.

Ken

Posted: Wed Nov 22, 2006 12:54 am
by squeakyknee
Perhaps I might just try that. It's not doin me any good sitting here in my garage broken.
Is the info on the Mitchell link from this site where I want 2 be sending it?

Yup

Posted: Wed Nov 22, 2006 11:50 am
by Jim
Yes. I took Ken's advice earlier in the year and sent a paddle to Mitchell (at the address on the web site). They called me to tell me it was received and confirmed the work. They replaced the tip, and if I recall correctly that was cheaper than the shipping out to them. Great company!

boatin

Posted: Wed Nov 22, 2006 4:17 pm
by Alden
Let me start by saying that I make a habit of not ever taking Ken D's advice. Yet I too have done the same thing with a wooden Mitchell - sent it back and got it repaired, and I recall it was fairly cheap.

(at least compared to that paddle I sent back to Drago Rossi . . . )

Alden

PS - Mr. Knee, let me guess - Greyhound Bus Stopper? Some big playhole on the James? (your avatar I mean).

Re: boatin

Posted: Wed Nov 22, 2006 10:44 pm
by squeakyknee
Alden wrote:
PS - Mr. Knee, let me guess - Greyhound Bus Stopper? Some big playhole on the James? (your avatar I mean).
It's actually a low head dam that creates a kick butt wave above 12 feet or so. We have had quite a few days of high water here in the last few months.