The balsa-cored greenland paddle builder Wayne Smith referred to is me. A laminated balsa core was carved to shape then layed up with: a. 1" wide unidirectional carbon fiber tape front and back, b. three layers of 3 oz cloth on shaft, two on the shoulders of the blade, and one at the tips, c. kevlar on tips for abrasion resistance. I used 24 hr epoxy laminating resin and vacuum bagged the layers on one at a time. Length 7 feet. Weight 22 oz. I experimented with spyder foam (a crush-resistant styrene foam) as a core material but quickly gave up as it was too floppy to shape easily. The paddle has held up to some fairly agressive paddling, though I haven't used it as a brace for entering and exiting the cockpit. I think it is probably strong enough for that, but ..... My only complaint is that the carbon makes the paddle quite stiff with a very quick flex (like a graphite fishing rod) rather than the softer feel, and slower flex of wood. Clark Bowlen *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Sat May 19 2001 - 19:40:25 PDT
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