TAP joint

Advice
#1

I was looking at Cricket kayak paddles and their site describes a “fiberglass TAP joint.”



How does this compare to the standard locking ferrule that I’ve seen on other paddles?



There are no photos of the joint on their site and I’m a liitle confused how it works. If anyone owns or has seen a Cricket, I’d appreciate your input



Thanks.

#2

Lightning Paddles
I have a fiberglass TAP joint made by Lightning. Actually I added it to a one piece I had. A fiberglass ferrel is glued into one paddle half with about four inches sticking out. The sticking out part of the ferrel fits into the second half and it has a SS spring loaded button which protrudes through a hole in the second paddle half when assembled.



So far it seems to work fine.



Mark

#3

When you say "standard"
do you mean stainless steel? My TAP’s have either FG (AT, Lightning) or carbon fiber (Bending Branches) but I have heard that SS ferrules are prone to loostening up and can be dented, making the paddle a one-piece.



Keep the composite ferrules clean, lubricate with graphite or a light coating of canning wax, take apart after each use, and store them in a paddle bag and you will have no problems. Cricket paddles has a good reputation too.



Jim

#4

Yes
I meant SS or carbon. The thing that confused me about Cricket was that the site describes it as a fiberglass joint not a ferrule. That made me think that it was actually a some sort of custom wood joint that is then fiberglassed somehow.



I guess that it must be a manufactured ferrule made fom fiberglass.

#5

Here’s how it works.


They take the wooden paddle and cut it in half. They then reduce the diameter of the shaft at the break and slide fiberglass tube over the ends to make the TAP joint.

#6

“TAP” is just an acronym for…
…“Take APart”. It’s not a specific kind of joint. All multi-piece paddles have TAP joints of one sort or another.