Flatpick's invention

Inspired by Steve Maynard’s boat
I first saw the use of pvc for holding spare paddles on deck on Steve Maynard’s Explorer at GOMSKS in either 2003 or 2004.



My approach was to drill holes to run bungee through. Taped the two pieces of pvc together with piece of foam as spacer as my Aquanaut does not have a rdf in the center to keep them spaced. I’ve lined them with 1/8" foam that provides enough grab so the shafts don’t slide on their own in the tubes. So far it’s worked pretty well.



BTW the finishing tape pretty closely matches the sulfur yellow of the coaming and seam on the boat :wink:



I’m now working out how to rig both my Aquanaut and Romany to easily stow and retieve my Greenland Paddle. It might be easier on the 'naut because of the boat’s additional 19" of length. Though I think I have it pretty well worked out for my Romany.

Lowes has black pipe elbows…
for those that do not like white. Of all the systems I’ve used for locking down the splits on the front deck, this is the only one that works all the time.



Dogmaticus

It taught me…
…to keep a Greenland “storm” paddle on the foredeck. It’s easy to secure, takes up less room than a split Euro paddle and it works just as well as my full length paddle when I need it.

Puget Sound Influence

– Last Updated: Mar-27-06 9:02 PM EST –

Steve, Jon and Karl have had a very strong influence in the PNW judging by the number of these I see on the decks of NDK's. Most of us don't paddle daily in washing machine conditions and can afford to fail so we have probably found more convenient means of storing our spares.

I don't like the look and prefer the convenience of the way I store my spare but I bet the first time that I Maytag, lose my paddle and survive I'll make a priority of installing these on my boat.

As Karl describes, this was designed out of necessity.

I’ve had paddles
that were under bungies get stripped off the deck while paddling through surf and breaking waves. I thought Flatpick’s invention looked to be the ultimate solution.



I picked up 2 of the 1.5" drain pipes and cut the threaded section off, exactly as Steve did. Unfortunately, neither my Lendall nor Bending Branches paddles will fit into the tube. Since, I have been looking for 2" with the 90° end, but if it exists, I haven’t found it yet.

Work good
I can’t imagine anything more convenient than these for storing a spare.



If you don’t want to run the bungies through them, you can run a bungie between with the two with a clip to attach to the fixed bungies just to be sure they stay around should the come out. That gives you a litte more adjustment in how far forward to put them.



My Werner has a little larger diameter shaft than my ONNO so it is hard for me to restow. I used a donut of minicel to raise the stern end up a bit to make the shafts slide in and out easier.



Thanks to all the great paddlers who developed, modified, proved, and shared this idea.

just glad I’ve got a storm paddle
and no assembly required!

yes…
pic of the gasket thingie please?

Cool!
good to know that this idea works and is pretty well liked…

i saw it and that that the idea itself was pretty slick…

need to find the black though…they are at Lowes???can anyone tell me the item number???i could not even find the pipes on the website…urgh…

thanks much for all thoughts!

rob

Just walk into the plumbing supply…
aisle at Lowes. Easier to find than looking up a number. Once you have black you aint goin’ back.



Dogmaticus

What assembly?
Perhaps I am fortunate in having explored many facets of the paddling world. Including solo whitewater canoe…

Where we have a saying, half the paddle, twice the paddler.



The “splits” do not need to be assembled, one need only use one, a la a canoe paddle. In fact, I believe those that use “Euro” (gawd, I detest that term) paddles should experiment with GP’s, those that think a GP is superior should learn to use a euro, both should spend time with a wing, and a significant amount of time learning to use a canoe paddle (without resorting to “sit and switch”). Perhaps all this talk about what is better gear can then become what is appropriate skill.



As example, the kind of surf I am talking about will strip a “storm”(another term that I think is silly) paddle off the deck, also. Been there, done that.



karl

Looks like
a great idea to me. I can’t see how some people constantly talk about over cluttering of your fore or aft decks. This design doesn’t seem like it would pose any problem. You have to stow a spare somehow, and for those wishing to use a euro spare, it looks good to me.

what he said…
that’s the story and I’m sticking to it!



thanks Karl.



steve

doesn’t fit
I’ve got a bent shaft lendal and it fits in the 1.5".



Are the pipes you got ABS. ABS has a larger inside diameter.


Probably works okay but
I’ve paddled in some pretty sloppy conditions on tha Atlantic, the Pacific, Lake Superior etc…never had an instance where they’d have been an asset. Deck clutter? Depends on your perspective I guess…if you like lots of gadgets and contraptions, sure…then they are probably good. Would I use them? Nope. I’d just use proper deck rigging and so on…like I’ve done for years and years… Greenland Storm paddle or a split Euro paddle, either one…I’ve always been able to secure my paddles quickly and easily enough. Swwitched paddles on the go, traded paddles with fellow paddlers yadda, yadda, yadda…



Am I saying “Flatpicks” invention does not work? Nope…I suppose it would work just fine. But I’m still not about to rush out and put it on any of my boats.

Appearance wise…not that “Appearance” is that important…but that being said…does not look all that pleasing to the eye in my oppinion.

To each his own though.

this
is all I use…works fine for me, and it’s simple



http://www.geocities.com/roym52/bungie-1-1.jpg



best wishes

Roy

Looks like PVC pipe with a pipe cap…
glued on should work also. As long as the ID of the pipe is larger than the od of your shaft. You may want to sand or file a flat onto the cap so it lies flush.

Also, gluing minicell onto the bottom should prevent scratching of your deck. As long as deck and foam are kept clean.

Liked the nice photos of kayak outfitting linked above.

Don

Hmmm…
Not sure about the exact material. Picked them up at the local big-box hardware chain. Another 1/8" would make it work. I will see if I can find some that are truly ABS and compare.

In the no stupid question left unasked
catagory.

How does one keep the paddle shafts secured IN the tubes? The tubes are secure yes…but I’m assuming there’s enough clearence in these for the paddle shafts to slide…right out.

I went with the clips from spring creek although for 85% of the paddles I do the backup is overkill.

Bungies