C-Forum

I cracked my paddle blade the other day, about 10cm from the throat to the mid section of the blade.

Any suggestions on how to repair it? I was thinking epoxy and a kevlar patch

Is it a longitudinal crack? Next to the shaft?

Kevlar is OK, but a carbon blade is fairly stiff, and Kevlar isn't. You might want to consider ordering some carbon cloth, or maybe the carbon/S-glass cross weave offered by Sweet. (See links.)

Kevlar's has high resistance to abrasion. In the context of mending a crack in a paddle, this can be interpreted as 'impossible to sand or grind'. When sandpaper touches kevlar, a furry head sticks out of whatever resin has been used to bond it. The only way to deal with this is to bury the kevlar in resin or other material, so that sandpaper never touches the kevlar. In any event, kevlar is not necessary for a paddle repair.

If the crack in your paddle is longitudinal, I recommend that you sand the existing surface near the crack to create a shallow V shaped trough around 1" wide with the crack running up the middle. The trough should be only as deep as the fiber skins of the paddle face. Then lay new fiberglass or carbon/glass cloth into the trough with epoxy resin. Use enough layers of cloth to fill the entire depth of the trough. After the new resin cures, you can sand the surface of the repaired area to return it to the original shape. While your are at it, sand the entire paddle face adjacent to the crack to scuff it up, but don't cut into any of the original fibers of the paddle skin. Then put a fresh coat of resin on the entire face that is being repaired.

36 grit sandpaper used with care will cut a good trough. 80 grit should be good for scuffing the surface of the repaired face. If you end up with a shape that you like, but the surface is not as smooth as you want, you can sand the face with 150 grit paper and put a coat of varnish on it.

Carbon in the repair cloth will make the repair less visible. All glass will be a little heavier, and maybe not as strong. But neither choice will make a measurable difference in strength, IMHO.

If the crack goes through the entire paddle, you will want to do this to both the front and the back face.

If you post a pic, better advice may be available from those that view it.

Thank you for your suggestions. I thought I'd post a link to a couple pictures of the crack, which perhaps might give a better idea of what i'm dealing with.

http://community.webshots.com/album/570754707BCEyLI

All suggestions and assistance are appreciated.

Also, I'm not the handiest person around, perhaps someone knows somebody or a store near the Toronto area that would be able to do a better job than I can.

cheers

now that bailey at clinch river paddle company is back from the dead call him at 865 986 9993

Check with Jamie Dors :

http://www.paddlesportsrepairs.com/

He's on the Canadian side, though in Ontario, so no customs, less shipping?

Jamie Dors is your man if you are in TO. You might weven be able to save on shipping cost as he works at the Airport, so you might be able to work something out as far as dropping it off or picking it up there.

TGG!