NSW
67 posts
My kevlar paddle is starting to creak as I lean into it.
Does this mean there is a crack somewhere? I can't see anything yet.
I thought kevlar was nearly indestructible?
QLD
177 posts
pics ? it may be the bond between the shaft and blade letting go particulary if the glue used was polyester resin or the overlap was not prepared (sanded) enough
If they are attached via hot glue then a hot day (in a hot car interior for example) can liquefy the glue and make it run into the blade neck.
ps it could be the handle bond also if there are no cracks in the blade.
5389 posts
Most probably, the problem lies either in the junction between the blade and the shaft, or in the bounding of the fibers with the foam in the blade, or your paddle shaft is delaminating.
Kevlar fibers can stop bullets in vests because it flexes (a carbon vest would shatter), so it may flex too much for the epoxy resin holding the fibers. Also, kevlar doesnt bound well with resin (that's why you often see carbon+kevlar entangled fibers, kevlar alone will delaminate easily), and is very bad in compression so should not be used as the main structure of the shaft.
In a word, I hope that your paddle is structurally carbon and only use an outer layer of kevlar to protect from shocks, otherwise it is bound to fall apart soon, unless the kevlar fibers have been specially treated to provide better bounding with the resin.
873 posts
We had one where the resin from fitting handle had run down inside shaft and when it let go of shaft (but still attached to handle) it would creak when scrubbing against the inside of shaft - I think similar to what Latman describes.
Try refitting handle and see what happens.
NSW
67 posts
Found the problem!
The blade was slightly loose and was rotating a few mm while I was paddling. When I got out of the water I was able to pull the blade off the shaft without too much effort. Now I know why I have been getting backache and sore shoulders.
A bit of araldite and it should be back to normal.
Thanks for all the tips and suggestions - made me look harder.
