Minkee said...
Nice :)
But not convinced about the unidirectional for the shaft, it sure looks good but is it safe enough?
Not sure what you mean about safe Minkee. The aim of the game was to make a light paddle with the feel of wood that had nice properties in flex etc. If you mean strength this paddle is laminated with epoxy resin with two layers of Innegra polypropylene fabric into the 7 layer of timber lamination. I then added the carbon Uni (inside a 4 oz fibreglass weave) to the outside to add stiffness and keep it light. I have put my whole body weight onto the paddle on the ground and it does flex and did not snap or even crack or groan. You do not put this much pressure on a paddle while paddling.
In other sports wooden paddles still reign supreme, wood has a nice flex feel. Some companies make Carbon/Kevlar to add some flex to the stiff carbon shafts that can be hard on your body. Kialoa and QB seem to have greater flex in their shafts that I really like though.
The paddle is finished now, I will put up some pics later on and will do some flex tests with a ruler and weights to show the difference in flex between carbon/carbon kevlar and this paddle. My initial reaction without paddling it would be that I would prefer it to be stiffer. This could be achieved by adding solid carbon tape into the lamination or the outside. Only paddling with it will really tell though.
Bottom line is that I just like to play with stuff. It's fun.
