Hi!

Any tip for getting rid of water trapped inside my paddle? I haven't been able to determine where the hole is, but I think it might be at the middle of the shaft.
I'm not to keen about drilling a hole in it, at least not if its a better way of doing this...

It is a AT 4-play paddle by the way.

Thank you


Harald

Howzit, I've had that problem before on some older paddles of mine. Just leave your paddle outside in the sun. It may take a week, it may take two, but the water will get nice and hot inside and evaporate. Then once you've got all the water out, use some glue (hot glue/expoxy - your choice and much debated) between the shaft and the blade. I'm sure that's where the water is coming in. If it's a crank, then check the centre join. If your blades are composite and maybe old and worn then check that. Might be coming in through there in which case it becomes tricky when it comes to blade edges and a new paddle may be in order.

Hope that helps a little...

if you're the impatient type, like me, or your area doesn't get much sun, you can use the following trick. it does require a tiny drill, but in my experience, that doesn't affect the strength of the paddle.

lay the paddle on both its blades, as a bridge between two chairs or similar and attach a couple of kilos to the middle of the shaft somehow. now mark the lowest point on the shaft with a pencil or so.

take the tiniest drill you can find and drill through the marked spot on the shaft.

put the paddle back on the chairs and attach the weight again. the weight willl make sure that the water drops run towards the tiny hole. the hole is too tiny for the water to run out, but now the next trick comes into play: take the shaft in both hands for a minute or so. this will raise the pressure in the shaft and push the water out of the tiny hole. let the paddle cool down and repeat the procedure.

you can still leave the paddle in the sun for a while afterwards to make sure it gets completely dry inside.

next, cover the tiny hole with a small piece of tape. should water get in again, you can remove the tape and use the hole to get it out again...

one way that i think the water can get in as well is straight through the shaft itself, especially if it's old and worn, it may get porous. which means it will suck in water whenever you stick the paddle straight from the hot sun into cold water (pressure work the other way as described above in that case...). to cure this, spray the shaft with some clear varnish. I cannot prove the 'porous shaft' theory, but my gut feeling is that it's true...

good luck and let us know how it goes, or if you find out better methods,
jeroen

Drilling a small hole will work but make no mistake, it will produce a large stress concentration. I quickly made up a rough model and see how much higher the stress will be at and around the hole. Be careful... your choice. Good luck

Thank you guys. I don't think I'll drill a hole after all. Maybe I can leave it on my bathroom for a couple of days, or use the hairdryer to heat it. I will try that this afternoon.

Or maybe a hole in one of the blades will do?

Nice model Adrian

Same story with the blades. You'll be creating a small weakness. It would be hard to know how it would affect the blade exactly. You also might not be certain where to drill as you probably won't know where the blade is hollow. If you must drill, avoid changes in shape on the blade, with regards to the drilling position. Avoid curved surfaces and drill on a flat area, but still, you're taking a chance. Have patience. You'll get the water out.

if you're repairing the joint between the shaft and blade, its can work well to get some kevlar strands and wrap around the joint with the epoxy. when we used to make our own boats (showing my age now!) it was easy to strip some fibres off kevlar mat to do so. I think this is the most likely place for a paddle to leak, especially an older set. I have this problem right now!

I've found out where the water comes in!
It's a crack in the left blade, about 7 centimeters from the end of the shaft, and the water pours out of there.

Guess its a weakness in the paddle, and I've contacted AT Paddles to hear what they say. It seems its a big weakness, so I don't know if I'll just settle with getting rid of the water....

Thanks for your replies! I will keep you updated

Cheers,
Harald

try seeling in an air tight container (or as air tight as possible) with a load of silica gel.