Cutting a K-1 paddle down into a OC-1 paddle??

[nrjoel]

I'm curoius about doing this with an old paddle of mine? I'm sure it has been done. Anyone have suggestions? Pro's and cons? Thanks, nate

[amollohan99]

Ive got two rigth ends to some kayak paddles I am thinking of the same thing. I think they will wear perfectly as I am a lefty. We found them both in the river. Coincedentally they are the same brand and make. Weak shafts, but I think they will work for some purposes. Good luck.

[John Coraor]

You can certainly turn a kayak paddle into a canoe paddle by chopping the shaft and inserting a T-grip (see the current thread on cutting down a canoe paddle at http://cboats.net/cforum/viewtopic.php?t=7959593 for tips). However, there are some caveats you should keep in mind. Most kayak blades are asymetrical because kayakers usually have their blades at more of an angle at the "catch" than canoeists. That asymetry is probably going to feel different in canoe. Second, most kayak blades are typically smaller in area than a canoe blade in order to facilitate a higher stroke rate. This will carry over to canoe, but will also reduce your power per stroke. Again, you may like this difference, but it will be a difference. I think that most people find these differences to make adapted kayak blades a poor substitute for a standard canoe paddle, but it can certainly be done.

[edg]

I've seen this done by a c-2 team with a high end slalom Lettman bent shaft k-1 paddle.

http://www.downriver.de/Fotoseite/Raine ... G_3197.htm

I've never seen it with a c-1, and think that John C. summed up the potential disadvantages pretty well. Now, if you want really strange, I've also seen a c-1 "wing" paddle, but heard it was pretty much useless on whitewater.....edg

[insolence]

Have a try - you might love it or hate it.
A friend of mine did it for C1 (whitewater ....) and absolutely loved it,as far as I'm concerned, I hated the feeling......

[TonyB]

My first canoe paddle was a chopped norse yak paddle,
i dont use it that often as its spoon is so pronounced, but I recently took a werner yak blade I found and turned it into a break down paddle, its helping me work my roll in the pool as it has a smaller head. Havent had it on the river except little stream yet.
gotta put something in it to make it float.

[Louie]

a few but Bailey put the tee grips on for me. He might still have some tee grips around. 865 986 9387

[nrjoel]

cool! thanks. I have a harmony horizon paddle. its blade is definately smaller than a canoe paddle. I think I will try it.

[Paddle Power]

I once wrote an article about making break down/apart canoe paddles.

See
http://www.lssd.ca/~bjohnston/

[yarnellboat]

I saw a cheap, symetrical, breakdown kayak paddle at a "Sports Mart" kinda place, and I cut it up and made into a breakdown paddle for my C-1.

I never plan on using this spare paddle, so I didn't want to spend any real money on it. It seems good enough, the blade is a little smaller. Now that you mention it, I don't think I've tried using it all - I should at least take it to the pool!

All I needed was a pipe cutter and an an extra t-grip, no problems.

PY.

[MarkE]

I just did this with an old K-1 paddle. I haven't used it on the water yet, but it looks pretty darn good and it was sure of a hades lot cheaper than buying a new C-1 paddle. Total cost? $0.

[img]http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/LY ... directlink[/img]

I don't know why the img link isn't working but if you cut and past the URL above, there is a pic of the paddle.