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Paddle: Carbon fiber blade: need advice *PIC*
By:Dale Benham
Date: 4/21/2011, 5:55 pm

I thought I would post this here, even though I'm referencing a canoe paddle I built. There seems to be such a rich and varied set of experiences here on this board and my chances are good for answers to my question.

I built a canoe bent-shaft paddle (an experiment because I liked the looks and feel of the Mitchel Leader paddle); wooden shaft (wrc & ash) with a walnut grip. The blade is carbon fiber - 4 layers of 3K twill. I used MAS epoxy - low viscosity and slow hardener to wet out the layers. I reinforced the blade area in the center with a 1/4" thick piece of cedar, about 2 1/2" wide.

My problem is that outside of the reinforced area, the paddle is quite flexible. I'm not implying that the blade is rubbery - but griping the thin blade, one can flex the blade maybe 1/4". I was expecting a very rigid blade. Is carbon fiber by itself not that rigid (even with 4 layers)? I don't like the shape of the non-powerface blade. If additional reinforcement is needed, would a thin foam sheet work? I want to build another with a stiffer blade without have the thickness and weight of of wooden blade covered with carbon fiber. Any advice is appreciated.

A video showing the blade as I spin around the paddle shows the blade shape:
http://www.bluestempaddler.com/newcf-update/

A more detailed description of the build is here:
http://www.bluestempaddler.com/newbentshaft/

Messages In This Thread

Paddle: Carbon fiber blade: need advice *PIC*
Dale Benham -- 4/21/2011, 5:55 pm
Re: Paddle: Carbon fiber blade: need advice
Allan -- 4/21/2011, 6:41 pm
Re: Paddle: Carbon fiber blade: need advice
Joe Whitman -- 4/21/2011, 6:50 pm
Re: Paddle: Carbon fiber blade: need advice
Reg Lake -- 4/21/2011, 9:09 pm
Re: Paddle: Carbon fiber blade: need advice
Dale Benham -- 4/21/2011, 9:45 pm
Re: Paddle: Carbon fiber blade: need advice *PIC*
Bryan Hansel -- 4/22/2011, 7:23 pm
Re: Paddle: Carbon fiber blade: need advice
Alex Ferguson -- 4/22/2011, 7:48 pm
Re: Paddle: Carbon fiber blade: need advice *PIC*
Bryan Hansel -- 4/22/2011, 11:51 pm
Re: Paddle: Carbon fiber blade: need advice
Glen Smith -- 4/23/2011, 12:01 am
Re: Paddle: Carbon fiber blade: need advice
Bryan Hansel -- 4/23/2011, 12:12 am
Ouch!!! *NM*
Glen Smith -- 4/23/2011, 12:49 am
Re: Paddle: Carbon fiber blade: need advice
Alex Ferguson -- 4/23/2011, 6:06 am
Re: Paddle: Carbon fiber blade: need advice
Bill Hamm -- 4/23/2011, 7:59 am
Re: Paddle: Carbon fiber blade: need advice
Mike Savage -- 4/23/2011, 4:49 pm
Re: Paddle: Carbon fiber blade: need advice
Bill Hamm -- 4/24/2011, 12:36 am
Re: Paddle: Carbon fiber blade: need advice *PIC*
Bryan Hansel -- 4/23/2011, 9:35 am
Re: Paddle: Carbon fiber blade: need advice
Alex Ferguson -- 4/23/2011, 6:41 pm
Re: Paddle: Carbon fiber blade: need advice
Bryan Hansel -- 4/23/2011, 8:57 pm
Re: Paddle: Carbon fiber blade: need advice
Bill Hamm -- 4/23/2011, 7:53 am
Re: Paddle: Carbon fiber blade: need advice
Bryan Hansel -- 4/23/2011, 9:37 am
Re: Paddle: Carbon fiber blade: need advice
Bill Hamm -- 4/23/2011, 12:21 pm
Re: Paddle: Carbon fiber blade: need advice
matt -- 5/14/2011, 6:54 pm
Re: Paddle: Carbon fiber blade: need advice
Paul G. Jacobson -- 5/14/2011, 9:38 pm
Re: Paddle: Carbon fiber blade: need advice
Paul G. Jacobson -- 5/3/2011, 6:58 am
Re: Paddle: Carbon fiber blade: need advice
Dale Benham -- 5/3/2011, 6:54 pm
Re: Paddle: Carbon fiber blade: need advice
Bill Hamm -- 5/4/2011, 1:53 am