Paddle Repair

[jporter]

I was going though we canoe stuff this weekend, its spring like in OR. And one of my paddles has a cracked blade. So I think I'm going to fiberglass the blade, but it has a cote of varnish on it. Do I need to sand off the varnish?

 

[Alan Gage]

Never done any wood paddle repairs but I'd say yes. Anytime I'm going to fiberglass something I make sure it's down the bare wood unless it's going on top of epoxy.

Alan

 

[BWCA66]

I would sand it off and make everything is completely dry before you glass it or the trapped moisture may cause it to rot from the inside.

 

[Philtrum]

I would sand it off and make everything is completely dry before you glass it or the trapped moisture may cause it to rot from the inside.

That, and the varnish could pull away from the wood due to moisture and sunlight.

 

[oldie moldy]

Well, just my 2 cent's but, I think maybe putting on that fiberglass would diminish the paddling qualities of the paddle. Depending on where the crack is I'd see if I could drill two small holes on either side of the crack with the idea of taking some braided nylon line (like that heavy fishing line) and lash the crack closed. If you were careful and made each loop of the line to lay beside the previous one, not overlapping, probably this "lash up" wouldn't cause too much resistance in the water. For a hole I'm thinking 3/32"

You might want to practice this lashing procedure, so you're smooth at it. Then use some of that Gorilla Glue squished into the crack as far as you can and then pull and lash the crack closed using the (fishing?) line.
I've found that Gorilla glue to be might sticky stuff, probably trying to thread the line through the hole will be difficult, wet one end of the line with super glue and it will stiffen right up. (no jokes from the peanut gallery, Brad) (or Rippy or Memaquay)

I don't think I'd try to make a proper knot in the line, but if you could make several wraps, line over line, and get the wrapped part to fall into one of the holes that would be great. I don't know how to describe in words but if you played with the line before using glue, you can see how to get the wraps into the hole.

So, when you actually do it: glue to crack, lash crack closed, glue squished into the line and the holes. Somehow you've got to keep tension on the line while the glue is setting up. This is something that you can invent during your practice runs.

Best Wishes, Rob

 

[Jim Dodd]

I've sanded mine down to bare wood, and even a little beyond. Used 3oz up to 6oz cloth and epoxy and covered the whole blade. One paddle, an old Bending Branches has been reglassed 3 times. It's my Old Reliable.

I would at least mix up some epoxy, force it into the crack. Stopping the moister from entering the wood pores is you main concern. A small crack shouldn't need clamping.

Take care of your paddle, and it will take care of you.

Jim

 

[Guest]

I have done this: CAREFULLY bend it a little to open up the crack if possible,wet the interior of the crack,force gorilla glue into the crack as far as possible, clamp/tie the crack shut and wait to dry. Often this is enough to hold. If not sand all the area of finish and apply epoxy and S type fiberglass tape. After it dries, sand smooth and refinish. The repair is practically invisible.
Turtle

 

[Guest]

I have done this: CAREFULLY bend it a little to open up the crack if possible,wet the interior of the crack,force gorilla glue into the crack as far as possible, clamp/tie the crack shut and wait to dry. Often this is enough to hold. If not sand all the area of finish and apply epoxy and S type fiberglass tape. After it dries, sand smooth and refinish. The repair is practically invisible.
Turtle

I’m with Turtle, although I have used epoxy resin and clamped the split blade together. I have a couple of wood paddles with blade splits repaired that way and they have stood up just fine.

I have also used lightweight fiberglass tape atop some splits after the epoxy and clamp. Also fine, and I could probably have gotten away with just the epoxy in the split.

And I have glassed the blades on a couple of wood paddles, using lightweight cloth and epoxy. I have not been as happy with that result; even an ounce or two or added weight make a very noticeable difference.

 

[Guest]

One explanation. I learned the hard way that Gorillia glue needs some moisture in the wood to bond well-that's why I said to wet the crack. Turtle

 

[jporter]

So I was going to glass the blade. But here in the pacific northwest you can't fine under 6oz glass. So I'm fill the crack with epoxy sand it smooth and re-varnish. I'll let you all know how it goes.

 

[Boatman53]

Haven't had much time lately to participate here are a couple of tricks I use on occasion. I have several artist pallet knives, some are very thin ans can drag epoxy into cracks. They are good for shaping fillets of epoxy also. No pallet knives, a feeler gauge works well also. Just clean it well or it won't be much good as a gauge.
Another trick is to use a shop vac to pull epoxy through even the tiniest twisted cracks that a knife can't do.
Good luck with the repair. Done right it should be stronger than the wood on either side of the crack.
Jim

 

[ppine]

There are at least two good ways to repair a cracked paddle blade. The simple one is to put some epoxy in the crack with a hypodermic needle and then secure the crack with some copper wire in pairs of small holes drilled on either side of the crack.

The other is to add a light layer of fiberglass cloth and epoxy. You do not have to go down to bare wood, but you do need to rough up the varnish or other finish on the blade for good adhesion. A lot of the commercial paddles now have a thin layer of fiberglass and epoxy when they are new. Stitch and glue boat construction starts by coating all the wood surfaces with epoxy. After it cures, more epoxy and glass are added. Fiberglass will add some weight but will be very secure. For a wide crack, add some wood dust to the epoxy until it is like peanut butter before putting it in the crack.

My beat up OT from 1951, has some rib cracks, and a few repairs. One was made by the previous owner with copper sheeting. It adds character to the boat and does not bother me at all. Good equipment is made to be used.

 

[Mihun09]

The way I do cracked ribs that I am not going to replace or do a backside repair on, is, heat the crack up with a heat gun, then syringe in epoxy. As it cools it will draw the epoxy deeper into the crack, keep adding until it no longer sinks in. Good penetration in that way. May work on paddles although I haven't cracked one to this point.

Karin

 

[jporter]

So after I used it I found out that the Gorilla Glue brand of epoxy is not water proof. I had wrongly assumed that all epoxy was. And when applying spar varnish you shooed hang the paddle so the excess runs off. Having the paddle flat makes the varnish to thick and it dues strange thing to the coat under it. But that's what sandpaper is for.

 

[Alan Gage]

And when applying spar varnish you shooed hang the paddle so the excess runs off. Having the paddle flat makes the varnish to thick and it dues strange thing to the coat under it. But that's what sandpaper is for.

Better yet do multiple thin coats. If the varnish puddles or runs you put on too much.

Alan

 

[Steve in Idaho]

If you glass the blade, it will be stiffer and stronger than it was originally. So, I would sand or scrape beyond the finish to thin the blade some before glassing it. Good opportunity to refine the blade shape if you like, and you can mitigate the weight gain some.