C-Forum

Has anybody had any experience rebuilding worn down paddle blades?

I have a carbon Werner Bandit, and noticed that the blade was getting fairly badly worn down, in the sense of getting shorter due to wearing away the bottom edge. It's currently maybe 1.5" shorter than when new.

I was thinking of thinning the existing bottom edge to make a scarph region and then laying some cloth to build a new lower blade, but don't have a thought as to cloth schedule (weight, bias direction, etc). Also, I have a back-up I could use to make a mold, but was thinking I might just lay up oversized on a flat surface and trim to final shape, giving up some of the curve of the blade.

No actual plan yet, I was wondering if anybody had any thoughts, suggestions, horror or success stories.

If you lay it up to be durable enough you may find that the balance of the paddle is thrown off - you might prefer to just let it be a bit smaller.

That said, one trick for a nice finish (at least on one side) is to lay it up on glass (such as an old thick windowpane).

I'd be tempted to layer dynel and kevlar and maybe carbon. If you have a someone who builds boats near you perhaps try and score some scraps (free). I've made a few paddle blades and they are functional but have helped me appreciate the work that goes in to a good blade (which mine are not!). I'd use West system epoxy for it's slight give and ability to bond to just about anything, but others may have better ideas.

I've repaired a bunch of paddles over the years. It's not too hard. You'll need a way to sandwich/clamp the repair material to the blade remnant.

1. Grind and taper your original blade material at least 1" from the current edge.
2. Lay up one side at a time, extending the material well past where you want the blade to end. Typically, I'll use at least 6 layers of 5 oz material on each side. Start with shorter lengths toward the blade terminus and gradually blend in the lengths to make a fairly uniform thickness. For toughness, you can do some inner layers in Kevlar, although it's not really necessary.
3. Once one side is done (and still wet), cover up with Handi-wrap.
4. Gently turn the blade over, supporting the new layup.
5. Repeat the layup process on the other side, and cover with more Handi-wrap.
6. Carefully squeeze/clamp the repaired area and let set up.
7. Trim the excess off, and sand the repair area if necessary.
8. Optional: Paint resin onto the repaired area.

i've added material to two werners, made them like new and it's not breaking off.