Straighten Sawyer Paddle Blade

[mwaalen]

Picked up a pair of these old Sawyers yesterday. Super excited being they are vintage and in really nice shape aside from the slight hook in the blade of the 54". Ultimately wondering about the design having the lamination butt-joints perpendicular to the shaft. I have inspected them closely and none of the joints are splitting so all looks structurally sound. I just started my research so possibly some information out there but in getting ahead of myself...

Q: Has anyone had experience with these paddles?
Q: Does anyone have suggestions on how to straighten this out or should I just leave it alone? Steam?? Clamp??

Thanksomuch

Peace

Micah

 

[memaquay]

I've never owned a sawyer, but I wouldn't worry about the horizontal laminations, as the paddles appear to have been fiberglassed. Wouldn't worry about the hook in it either, not sure there would be a way to straighten it with the glass on there.

 

[Mason]

I had a pair way back that cupped slightly--not as much as yours. I ignored it. Yeah, I think the design is wacked.

 

[mwaalen]

You are right they are glassed and quite heavily too. The tip of that particular paddle is wore down into the wood so if steam were even an option it could get in through the tip of the blade if there were even a way to do that? Probably do more harm than good I would imagine.

 

[stevet]

Pretend it’s an S blade and enjoy

 

[gumpus]

The bad news is that you can't straighten the blade. The good news is that curvy blades sometimes work great in the water while blades that appear straight sometimes buzz and flutter. Your paddle may actually work quite well since if you keep the concave part facing forward it may act like a bent shaft paddle with a smaller angle; the curvature COULD help the paddle enter the water more quietly.

 

[mwaalen]

Thanks everyone for the insight. As suggested I'm going to leave it as is aside from a bit of waterproofing to the tip. The boat I purchased only came with one MR paddle that I assume was supplied with the initial purchase.

The original plan was to get my son (the stern-mam) a proper lengthed straight shaft to complete our set however I came home with three paddles instead of just the one. The third being a BB bent shaft that I have yet to identify. The bad news however is it is only 52" so now I have two bent shafts at that length.

In familiarizing myself with the design of all, it appears the BB has no glass. The blade on the MR is glassed and measures 8.5" wide. I also prefer the feel of the MR handle to the BB being it is wider and more cupped.

Hopefully soon I will get it all in the water for a bit of experimentation. The ice went out just last week around here.

 

[memaquay]

Have you tried out the bent shafts? 52 inch is not unusual, as bent shafts tend to be shorter. 54 is usually the upper end.

 

[mwaalen]

Thanks.
Have yet to try any of these 4 paddles but have logged a number of miles with both bent and straight shafts in the past. Don't recall any lengths however as never really paid any attention but have read up recently on how to properly size them so should be in the ball-park as you mentioned. Hopefully in the next couple weeks I will be able to get out on the water to experiment.

Micah