Wooden paddle repair

Advice
#1

I have a 35 year old wooden 5 degree Gillespie paddle.

The blade has multipul hairline cracks in it. If I flex the blade by hand the cracks barely move but they do move. Should I go ahead and repair them and if so what is the best method?



Thanks

Darryl

#2

This is a tough one. You could just
strip the blade and paint or roll epoxy on it. If you warm the blade just before epoxy application, then cooling will help draw the epoxy into the hairline cracks. Do one side at a time.



Normally I would prefer to glass the faces with 4 or 6 ounce glass and epoxy, but while this would be acceptable on a wooden whitewater paddle, it would add too much weight to a Gillespie. Carbon cloth would be much lighter, but there goes your nice wood appearance.

#3

Wooden Paddle Repair
Thanks, I like the warm epoxy idea.



Darryl