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Best uses for a bent shaft paddle

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That's sad, I am pretty attached to mine. We've been together since '88. Unfortunately, my son-in-law wounded it pretty badly on a recent canoe trip.
 

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My first bent shaft paddle was a wood 14 degree Bending Branches job. I hit a rock with it and it cracked. I carefully epoxyed it, and it cracked again, in a different place. I added some fibreglass and epoxied it somemore. It cracked in a third place. I'd say BB picked a bad board, the grain coincidentally aligned with ambient rock forces, but actually the blade is several strips laminated together. Maybe I just got a lemon, but I haven't been inspired to try BB again.

I still have the paddle and I use it as a loaner. It hasn't earned its retirement. Also, I can't really give it the Mem funeral pyre treatment since it now has so much resin it might make toxic fumes.
 
Bent shafts are superior to straight shafts. For gently scooping up turtles or stuff that other folks drop in the water.

TrailBlaser, it looks like a minor flesh wound.

Goonstroke, just burn it at a very high temperature.

Note to self; add "ambient rock forces" to vocabulary.
 
This whole thread is a riot. Gumpus I’m going to try to call in a few minutes.
 
Judging from the visible gray weathering on the broken splinter, that paddle has been hanging around for a long time in that condition before the decision was made to have it meet its ultimate maker. Maybe it was too hard to part with after all? :rolleyes:
 
I had thrown said Grey Owl bent in my large freighter canoe as a back up. Over the course of the summer, the launch in back of my house became a little difficult as the water lowered and the cat tails rose. Coming back one night from some festivities, I had two passengers, and the paddle through the bullrushes was more bully than rushy. I took one mighty stroke to push us over a loonshit ridge, and the dang thing snapped like a toothpick. If I had beed using the Black Bart that Alan Gage had given me, the freighter probably would have launched to the moon. Just kidd'n, it probably would have broke too, cause it was a useless bent shaft.

I have broken straight shaft paddles too, but that usually involved massive feats of strength, not a little push through some duck crap.
 
OK a serious question. I and a kneeling solo paddler. I us a straight paddle that is 34" top pf grip to start of blade. What length bent should i get? Thanks, Turtle
 
You should have whittled it down to a point so you could have a bent shaft wieny roaster. I heard they cook wienies twice as fast and only half the fat.

Alan
 
You should have called me and I would have come over to throw in that wood straight shaft that split on me with minimal effort.

Alan
 
OK a serious question. I and a kneeling solo paddler. I us a straight paddle that is 34" top pf grip to start of blade. What length bent should i get? Thanks, Turtle

Depends on a multitude of factors. I rarely kneel, but while seated, I use either a 48" or 49" or 50" in my rapidfire, depending on water conditions and if I am hard training (longer paddle) or just playing around. I use a 51" when racing in a C2 or C4 in the bow seat. I use a 52 inch when racing or bow seat training in one particular large voyageur canoe, a 51" from a middle seat or if in another voyageur. I use a 53 or 54 inch if in the stern of a voyageur.
 
I had thrown said Grey Owl bent in my large freighter canoe as a back up. Over the course of the summer, the launch in back of my house became a little difficult as the water lowered and the cat tails rose. Coming back one night from some festivities, I had two passengers, and the paddle through the bullrushes was more bully than rushy. I took one mighty stroke to push us over a loonshit ridge, and the dang thing snapped like a toothpick. If I had beed using the Black Bart that Alan Gage had given me, the freighter probably would have launched to the moon. Just kidd'n, it probably would have broke too, cause it was a useless bent shaft.

I have broken straight shaft paddles too, but that usually involved massive feats of strength, not a little push through some duck crap.

I've heard people can get "beer muscles", maybe that's what you had.;)
 
OK a serious question. I and a kneeling solo paddler. I us a straight paddle that is 34" top pf grip to start of blade. What length bent should i get? Thanks, Turtle

I'd echo yknpdlr's response, but add that I wish more paddle makers would tell us that diminsion (grip to start of blade). What you really want to do is scale the shaft to your torso length, then adjust for type of boat, seat height above the water, and position in the boat. However, usually the only information at hand is the length overall of the paddle and your standing height.

In the spirit of a thumb rule is better than nothing, I'd say take 3" off of the shaft length going from straight to bent. A Zav blade is 19", so call it 34-3+19=50". But if you kneel a lot maybe you like big beamy Prospectors or something, so add a little more. 51"?
 
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