soaking plating
with corrosive acetic acid but not spraying plating with tested sophisticated compounds used on expensive complex mechanisms ?
50/50 now....if paddles used cold are taken apart warm then the tolerances for smooth removals are too tight.
I’ve owned four Werners
All with the newer micro adjust ferrule and all of them have worked perfectly, no sticky button. I’m glad Werner is honoring their warranty.
Well, my Kallista was seized up solid in the “IN” position. Thus my paddle was prone to separating while I was paddling. Since I am going to be ocean paddling in a few weeks, I decided this was unacceptable.
I spoke with Werner service, and they recommended against use of any lubricants, other than water. Since mine was totally seized, I used WD-40 to loosen it up to allow movement. This enabled me to clean the assembly with Witch Hazel in an ultrasonic with the paddle standing vertically in the alcohol. 20 minutes of this removed any evidence of lubricant. However, the button was still sticky.
I attached my water powered pressure washer (not my gasoline one!) to the garden hose and forced water through the center of the paddle while operating the button for about 10 minutes. Now the spring is visible and the button moves as smoothly as it did 3000 miles ago. The inside also looks like new.
I do wish Werner would make a point of reminding users of this paddle to thoroughly wash it out after each use, especially in salt water, to prevent this seizing.
Soak overnight in HOT water with Dawn dish soap. Refresh the HOT water a couple times. I do this about 3 times a year because I paddle 97% in a sandy, salt water environment.
Before doing this, my Werner joints were always problems. Now it only happens about once a year when a pesky piece of sand does not flush from hose water pressure.
I lube my breakdown paddles with a little spritz or drop of the Boeshield T9 that I use on bike chains and on the connection joints of my folding kayak aluminum frames during assembly. Waterproof lubricant that doesn’t get gummy or damage materials (developed by Boeing for use in aircraft internals, therefore formulated not to degrade plastics or wiring insulation.) Has aided in freeing up skegs and sticky rudder cables on some older boats I have salvaged as well.
I paddle mostly in brackish water. About once a week. I started noticing a very gradual tightening of the joint, making it difficult to take apart, mostly, but also harder to put together. It happened so slowly that I was not sure what was going on, until it was getting really difficult to separate them. Everything looked good, nothing was detectable to me, that could be causing the problem. We were rinsing them once a year, but once this started happening, I tried rinsing more frequently.
A couple years ago, I decided to try letting joints soak in a bucket of water for an hour. Like you would do with rope that has become stiff from salt. Problem solved. So now I always do that after every trip, everything is working fine, they attach and detach like when they were new.
I just partially fill a 5 gallon bucket, put them in, and these days, typically just leave them in over night, just because that is more convenient than remembering to go back out and mess with them that night.
I own three Camanos and three Kallistes. My first Kalliste locked together and wouldnt cone apart. The advantage of buying from a shop is they took care of the warranty repair. Dave at Annapolis Kayak couldn’t get it and sent it back to Werner.
During the interim, I reverted to my Werner Camano. Although I always liked the Camano, the difference was noticable enough that I bought a longer Kalliste to see if it would offer an advantage. I still use the longer paddle. Werner cover the repair under warranty, and the shop took care of handling. None of the other paddles have had any problems.
When exploring twisting channels in the salt marshes, I use the Kalliste like a Greenland paddle, holding the blade to gain leverage for sweeps around tight corners. That may have stressed the joint. I’ve since learned to use less force in favor of more efficient finesse, recalling my father’s adage, “Think like a mule, work like a mule.” So far so good. Speed through efficiency.
Considering the tight tolerances of the Werner paddle connection, I consider it an acceptable hazard. Everything about the joint, including the button, is flush and virtually seamless. The areas where I paddle are salt water or brackish salt marshes. After previously reading the suggested precautions, I considered the preventative steps but decided that the problem only happened once. I’ll worry about it the next time. Surely there are better paddles, but as long as Werner honors the warranty, I’m dedicated to their paddles.
Not sure what it is to think like a mule, but it’s a helluva cool maxim.
The only problem I have had with my Werner paddles was during the EC, when my trusty Athena (6+ years old with 3-4k paddling miles) decided that it didn’t want to fully fit together on day 3. It also didn’t want to come apart so I paddled the rest of the race with it like that - it never budged over 200+ miles. (I did have a spare paddle, also a Werner, that I could have used if needed). A quick rinse when I got to the finish and it came right apart. I always rinse my paddles after every use, including inside the ferrule, and store blades up so they can drain.
Having worked with Werner many times while working at two kayak shops I can verify that they are great to work with and stand behind their products. We are fortunate to have several other companies like that in the paddlesports world (Kokatat, Seals and NRS come to mind)
@Buffalo_Alice my brothers all think I’m a mule because they have motor boats. I went out one time with a brother and he remarked that he should have brought his 22 foor boat instead of the 18 footer. I would have been satisfied with my 145 kayak.
I probably resemble the remark. Pappayak also said, “How will you ever know what you’re doing is stupid, unless somebody tells you!” Well . . . At least now I know.
@Brodie I hear Aqua Bound is good as well. I was suprised that after letting several family members and friends use my Kallistes, they preferred the Aqua Bound Ray series over the Kalliste. Paddles are different things to different people.
@Jyak I have heard good things about AquaBound as well. I guess I should try one of their paddles sometime!
As I mentioned on another thread, Aqua Bound is currently offering a sale price of $132 on its hybrid Manta Rays (31.75 oz) and Sting Rays (30.5 oz) - that’s a good price to weight ratio, IMO.
I do wish the the next level up paddles (Tango and Whiskey with fg blades) came in single color designs rather that their butt-ugly patterns (I know, my 100% subjective opinion).
I actually like those patterns a lot but choices are always good. All of my paddles are what Werner calls “every paddler’s favorite color” - carbon black.
@Brodie to clarify, I have two Sting Ray plastic blade pictured, as well as two other Aqua Bound; one all black carbon, and another black shaft/white blade. I may have given them away because I can’t presently find them. I would like to try them again to figure out why they’re so popular with so many paddlers I know. I switch from them 10 years ago when I bought the Camano then the Kalliste. I wouldn’t trade the Kalliste for any of them, but out of at the seven people I’ve introduced the Kalliste paddle to, only two prefer it.
No question about it!
In my case, Werner is wrong. I understand that true carbon fiber is black, period. But all things being equal (which of course they’re not), I’d take a more visible blade color any day.
Wrap paddle for color.
Always in saltwater always rinse never had a problem in 14+ years with 6 CF Werner’s and one FG. One Celtic two years old.
You’re right, of course. I’m just being stubborn, but manufacturers could incorporate better reflectivity into their designs if they chose to do so. However, as @Brodie pointed out, everybody’s favorite color is black according to Werner.
My favorite color is black, but it would make sense to add some reflective or bright colors to be visible. I mentioned how a power boater told me the kayak isnt visible out there on open water. I asked how he couldn’t see a 14 ft bright blue boat, but he could see a half gallon bleach bottle attached to a crab trap. Must be from practice finding small things in the dark, like the beer on his belly.
SOLAS TAPE is easy answer.