both my wife and I beat the heck out of our ZRE carbon fibre bent shaft OR paddles in a shallow down river rocky race on Saturday.
The edges of the paddles are chipped (some places about 3/8" long and an 1/8" deep).
Any good tips on repairing them other then just sanding the whole edge down and coating it with epoxy ?
Jack L
I would use G-flex, possibly the version
that comes pre-thickened, to fill the chipped out areas. The slight flexibility of G-flex and its high adhesion should make it work well for this application. In my case, I have West microballoons in the handy pantry can, so I would mix balloons with non-thickened G-flex. Maybe add some microfibers.
I’d be tempted to tip the paddle with S-glass, just enough to reinforce the filled in chipped areas. One way I’ve used, not guaranteed to be better than several others, is to add a single layer of S-glass, or maybe even carbon, to each side, letting the wet-out cloth extend past the end of the paddle. Then, carefully sand and clean the recess between the extended layers, so new epoxy will stick gud. Pull out a bunch of S-glass and Kevlar strands, of length equal to width of the paddle tip. Put strands in groove, wet with epoxy, maybe apply pressure to increase fiber to resin ratio.
The S-glass and Kevlar fibers complement one another, with the Kevlar preventing the tip from completely fracturing if struck sharply at one spot.
Many thanks
jack L
More than you want to read Jack !!! : )
http://surfskiracing.org/2010/04/if-i-had-to-build-up-the-perimeter-of-a-thin-laminate-edge-and-have-it-come-out-nice/
paddle repair
I’d sand the edge profile slightly and then use tape on one side and fill with epoxy laced with finely shreded glass matt or microfibers. Give the repaired part a coat of polyurethane.
I use electrical tape layed lengthwise over the edge of the blade to help deflect some of the potential damage. It smooths out well and lasts until it is too chewed up but never seems to lose its adhesion.
paddle repair
I believe ZRE paddle blades are easy to replace. Info on Zaveral web page.
JackL needs to wear the blade down
to get his stroke rate up.
paddle
the blades are easy to change if ya dont mind the coat. i just put a new one on my grb last week.
i have used resin w/filler to thicken the mix and tape one side of the blade. it aint nice looking but it works
do ya have a couple of shafts to get rid of?