Stuck paddle shaft

I have an Aqua-Bound StingRay with a carbon shaft. The male part seems much too large for the female part. It has not been in salt water. It was kept in a high-humidity garage over the winter.



I greased it but still can’t put it together.



What can cause the shaft to expand?



Anything I can do about it?



P.S. Sorry if any juveniles find this post amusing. I didn’t invent the terminology.

Call Aqua Bound
for starters. They would be the experts on their paddles.



The obvious solution would be to fine sand the male end a bit and soften the hard edge on the lip of it and lubricate it. It can be caused by distortion of the roundness of the shape that can just happen by the stress and strains of temperature change or use. But I would first call A-B and see what they say. It may not be as tight as it seems once you soften the edge and get it started.

I 've had the same thing happen
and Aquabound said to very carefully…a little at a time…sand the ferrule as it tends to swell. No lubrication as it will gather sand/grit. Just sand with fine sandpaper the raised parts on the ferrule - careful not to sand too much. Just enough so it will go together.

Epoxy resin will take in small amounts
of water, and then it swells very slightly. Might have been just enough to make insertion hard.



I’ve had to sand a ferrule also. I wrapped fine grit paper around the male part of the ferrule and tried to remove material slowly and evenly, trying fit as I went along.

silicone lube
After you get it to fit, I would suggest some silicone or teflon DRY lube ( it leaves a dry film after you apply it from the aerosol) to make sure the paddle doesn’t stick together, it worked for me on a few ( one aluminum cheapie, one carbon aquabound) that used to be AWFUL to get apart after use.

The dry lube won’t collect dust or sand the way a wet or oily one would.

I called AB
Actually talked to the Pres. Joe at the time who told me to “lightly sand the ferule but do not use any grease or lubricate”. He even called me back the next to make sure everything worked out OK.

Call Aqua-Bound
I would just call Aqua-Bound. They are total experts! Here is there phone number: 715-755-3405