Paddle blade sinks.

C1 8.1 · Post by **C1 8.1** » Mon Aug 15, 2011 4:57 pm

Got my new paddle and I love it. Going to be my creeking stick. Just need it to float a little higher in the water. Blade and shaft are bomber. Thinking of using 1/8th neoprene foam in a couple of places. Tgrip and 5 inches are all that stick out now. I know a swim is coming up and I want to see more of the blade.
Any suggestions.
JMB

TNbound · Post by **TNbound** » Mon Aug 15, 2011 5:09 pm

First suggestion would be not letting go of your paddle...
Second would be paint it a bright color.

marclamenace · Post by **marclamenace** » Mon Aug 15, 2011 5:14 pm

Don't you EVER let go that paddle for anything else than a cold beverage.

Keep your best hiking swimming swiftwater-walking friend close by.
Then stand up, grab yer boat and youre back on track. Oh but you need your paddle then...

Got it?

Try to mess around swimming in flatwater with your paddle, find a way to swim efficiently with it, that's time well spent.

C1 8.1 · Post by **C1 8.1** » Mon Aug 15, 2011 5:21 pm

Painted the blade fluorescent green. Does not help as the blade is floating vertical 3 feet under water. Trying to step my Cboating up a bit. Paddle a Nomad 8.5. Brilliant and non brilliant suggestions welcome. Prefer brilliant.

ncdavid · Post by **ncdavid** » Mon Aug 15, 2011 5:29 pm

What kind of paddle is it, Joe?

old school · Post by **old school** » Mon Aug 15, 2011 10:29 pm

Since you asked for "non-brilliant", I feel more than fully qualified to jump in here:)

So for what it is worth:

1) Take handle off, insert air bag or foam in shaft.

2) I used to tie a string(small shock cord) to my bail bucket, BUT be sure it will break off if gets around your neck, etc.(Test it)
Dont really like this idea but it works.
Wrist band?

3) Keep a spare in the boat.

4) Work on your hand roll.

4) As said before, swimming with a paddle does work and can help on big water rivers, try in a lake or pool 1st.
You can even use it to fend off rocks when swimming BUT CAUTION On tight creeks it can be a liability and become a strainer.
It "was" a big help swimming in the Grand Canyon since the swims there are often more than 1/4 - 1/2 mile(yeah really!

.

5) While I speak from experience on over 200 trips on over 100 rivers and creeks, mostly IV, V, VI - that was 30 yr ago.
But rivers and paddles have not changed that much I dont think.

I only let my paddle go 2 times.
- Once it got stuck in a rock crack and stayed there(I was pulled away in my boat, hand roll came in handy).
- Once while swimming with it in a steep creek and it tried to trap/strain me, had to let it go.
- I used it once to swim out of Gauley Iron Ring and another place I cant remember

So you have to balance the frequency of how much you expect this to happen vs what it will take to make it float high.

This was all OC1, I never came out of my C1.

For C1
I was absolutely determined not too come out - had an absolute bullet proff roll plus hand roll plus determined to stay in boat.
"In your boat" ie C1 is much safer than swimming even upside down.
Unless pinned of course.
The same is not always true for OC1.
Good luck.
Bill

Post by **sbroam** » Tue Aug 16, 2011 2:15 am

one word - helium.

C1 8.1 · Post by **C1 8.1** » Tue Aug 16, 2011 2:52 am

Thanks for the attempts at humor and the stroll down memory lane. Figured Cboats might be more accommodating than BT.
So what paddles do you folks use that can take a beating from Wilson, Watauga and similar runs?

Post by **sbroam** » Tue Aug 16, 2011 3:10 am

More seriously - my wooden sticks float much better than my composite - I had similar experience with my Perception paddle, it would float vertically with the t-grip only a little out of the water. I learned not to let go... My wood sticks all float flat. You do learn to take care of a wooden paddle...

philcanoe · Post by **philcanoe** » Tue Aug 16, 2011 3:20 am

for starters?

ncdavid wrote:What kind of paddle is it, Joe?

First thing that comes to mind is to make a break down out of it, and buy another that floats. Second is to paint "this suxs"across the t-grip, using the brightest fluorescence particles ever made.

Larry Horne · Post by **Larry Horne** » Tue Aug 16, 2011 3:26 am

first thing I would do is get the water out of it.
then i'd fix whatever hole or crack is letting the water in.

truckeeboater · Post by **truckeeboater** » Tue Aug 16, 2011 3:50 am

if it's a composite paddle then you probably have water in it. A friend of mine had a Waterstick for a few years that always sounded a bit "sloshy". Turns out that the wooden trip rotted right out. I've had a Werner bandit for a few seasons and it paddles great and floats real well.

still can't say enough about practicing voluntarily swimming the gnar with your paddle in hand. it's gotten me out of a few jams in the past.

good luck!

h2sk1 · Post by **h2sk1** » Tue Aug 16, 2011 3:17 pm

C1 8.1 wrote:Got my new paddle and I love it. Going to be my creeking stick. Just need it to float a little higher in the water. Blade and shaft are bomber. Thinking of using 1/8th neoprene foam in a couple of places. Tgrip and 5 inches are all that stick out now. I know a swim is coming up and I want to see more of the blade.
Any suggestions.
JMB

Someone we paddle with uses a pool noodle (those foam cylinders that come in yellow, hot pink, flourescent green). That's a cheap, easy, solution because you can often find them with a hollow core.

I find it looks cheesy, but it is effective.

Einar · Post by **Einar** » Tue Aug 16, 2011 10:53 pm

Don't know why but I value my paddle more than my boats so... I don't let go of it, anytime. It just seem to have become more personal to my paddling.

Formerly a Lightning C1, then a Watersticker, now a Werner carbon Bandit. I tend to overpower and break them in creeks on rocks... if the T grip doesn't smack me in the nose, again.

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Paddle blade sinks.

Paddle blade sinks.

Re: Paddle blade sinks.

My blade