Here’s a somewhat quick ‘n’ dirty way to transport a one-piece Greenland Paddle if you don’t have enough room inside your vehicle. Total cost was probably about $30 CAD at Home Depot, excluding the foam blocks mentioned below.
Materials needed are:
10’ piece of 4" CPVC sewer pipe
1 end cap
1 cleanout adapter
1 threaded cap
CPVC cement
2 foam blocks for carrying the canoe you got rid of years ago after deciding you liked kayaking much better
Heavy duty outdoor rated duct tape (yes, I’m serious)
Start by cutting the pipe to a more suitable length. Then glue on the end cap and cleanout adapter. Cut a radius in the bottom of the foam block that fits the pipe. Mount the foam blocks on the cross bars using the channels that would usually cradle the canoe gunwales. Set the pipe atop the foam, and duct tape the hell out of it.
This is a somewhat temporary solution for when I go out east very soon. I’d like to come up with a better mounting for the pipe, but would rather not spend a lot of time or money on it.
And yes, I know that multi-piece paddles are available as well.
Great minds think alike. My version of perhaps a decade ago, and still in regular use, has drain/ventilation holes along length. Also tethered removable cap to main body. I used a test plug that has wing nut to compresses a rubber washer to ID of PVC pipe. I have a strap rig that holds GP tube to my Thule Aero bars utilizing its T channel. Takes about 3 minutes to install or remove. Mine holds 3 paddles and sometimes fishing rods. Have used foam chunks inside to reduce rattles between 2 wood and single carbon paddle. Lovely wife also sewed up a colorful paddle “sock” that protects well too.
Since I assume the pipe must stay on the rack for the duration of the trip and there won’t be any need for repeated removal and installation, how about attaching it with a square lashing? That will eliminate any need for the foam bases too so you can dispense with that aspect. It’ll be at least as quick to attach as with the duct tape, but stronger and much quicker and easier to remove later. It won’t be quite as neat and tidy as some kind of mechanical connector, but just about as solid, and you did say you wanted something that didn’t require time or money.
I considered a lashing, and might replace the tape with cordage if I keep it on there. If nothing else, it would look much better if I were stopped by a bored police officer. This is not to say the mounting is suspect, but admittedly it does appear so.
In my situation the foam blocks also raise the pipe up a few inches to clear the cap/topper. Either way I’d still need something to serve this purpose.
I don’t care too much about serious protection for the paddle, as it gets very dinged up with normal use. I’d like to make a “sock” for when I carry two or (maybe) three paddles. With just one I’ve not noticed any rattling yet.
Regarding vent/drain holes, are they necessary? What happens without them?
Good question on holes since paddles are made to get wet and pipe to keep the inside isolated from the outside. And it requires they face down complicating orientation. Might generate wind whistling too. Version 2 will not have holes in spite of how clever I felt boring them uniformly spaced along a plumb line.
@Andy said:
Good question on holes since paddles are made to get wet and pipe to keep the inside isolated from the outside. And it requires they face down complicating orientation. Might generate wind whistling too. Version 2 will not have holes in spite of how clever I felt boring them uniformly spaced along a plumb line.
It may be a good idea. I’m just not sure either way. I’m thinking condensation will occur inside the pipe and it might begin to create it’s own ecosystem, including mold. Initially I had planned on some holes but in my haste to get this put together as cheaply and quickly as possible (while still being safe, of course) I kinda forgot about that part.
Assuming the racks aren’t bare metal, a couple of bungies, Velcro strips , or rope and tie it securely to the rack.
Weather? We are talking about a paddle, right?
@string said:
Assuming the racks aren’t bare metal, a couple of bungies, Velcro strips , or rope and tie it securely to the rack.
Weather? We are talking about a paddle, right?
I’m sure that would work too. The main things I like about my solution (though I won’t take credit for the idea) is that it’s quick to throw a paddle or two inside and do up the cap. You’re guaranteed that it’s as secure as the pipe has been attached.
Since the paddle is cedar, which is quite soft, I’d expect significant dents to form if the paddle were tightly attached to the rack in transit, which I don’t like the feel of when I’m paddling.
@string said:
Assuming the racks aren’t bare metal, a couple of bungies, Velcro strips , or rope and tie it securely to the rack.
Weather? We are talking about a paddle, right?
Then he’d have to scrape off the bug carcasses. At least until a good frost takes them out. I have one of those sewer pipes in my garage. That’s how my Lumpy was shipped. The paddle fits in my car nicely, so no need to carry it on top.
@Rookie said:
Then he’d have to scrape off the bug carcasses. At least until a good frost takes them out. I have one of those sewer pipes in my garage. That’s how my Lumpy was shipped. The paddle fits in my car nicely, so no need to carry it on top.
A good point I hadn’t thought of yet. In fact, even in the little time I’ve driven around with the new pipe on top, the cap is pretty splattered with bugs already.
Not much room in the hatchback, so I added plumbing 8 years ago.
Never repainted… but do scrape bugs.
Use tie down straps (shortened) to attach. And my paddles can’t get anymore beat to death rattling around in there.
I just use a ball bungie and one of those twistie things that are in the stores these days on each bar when I rack the sticks. No sign of damage & I haven’t notices much, if anything, in the way of bugs. On the other hand, I don’t have a place to put cool sitckers.
One of the attendees at Greenland Training Camp had a cool roof pod for his paddles made of one of those 5" square by 8 foot hollow vinyl fence posts with an arrow-shaped cap. Being flat, it was more solid on his rack than a round pipe and looked pretty cool. Here is the cap. His was black (painted, I believe). It didn’t look as “commercial” as white PVC pipe.
I made both PVC pipe and mailbox post paddle carriers many years ago and I still use them. The 4" pipe will carry three paddles comfortably. The square mailbox post will carry six paddles.
There are two downsides to the square posts.
1 - The material is much thinner and is pretty easily broken.
2 - You have to make your own removable end cap, as there is nothing like that available commercially.
You can also get 6" PVC pipe and fittings and it works great, but it’s a lot more expensive than 4".
