RE: [Paddlewise] Carbon Fiber Paddles and Lightning?

From: Michael Daly <michaeldaly_at_rogers.com>
Date: Fri, 10 Oct 2003 17:26:34 -0400
On 11 Oct 2003 at 6:36, PeterO wrote:

> My question is now a bit obscure as I'm really interested in whether a
> paddle shaft is conductive at all at low voltages. Is the carbon fibre
> in a paddle a continuous weave and do the fibres make electrical
> contact with each other despite the presence of all that insulating
> resin?
> 
> I suppose I could cut up my $400 carbon paddle to find out!

Don't bother - I have a broken shaft that I picked up off the ground 
at a kayaking event - Lendal Grade 1F (25% fiberglass, 75% carbon)

Measuring with a beat up old volt-ohmmeter, I find that the 
resistance from one end to the other varies from 20 to 40 ohms 
depending on where I place the probe at one end.  It would appear 
that there's a slight variation in resistance across the fibers.  The 
length of the piece is 17.5 inches.

Mike

***************************************************************************
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 Fri Oct 10 2003 - 14:26:49 PDT

This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Thu Aug 21 2025 - 16:31:10 PDT