So, following our final festival of the season, my one-year-young Carbon Fiber blade is TRASHED on the side edges

I've been getting little dings throughout the year but this past weekend it suffered major damage, even exposing the foam core in one spot.

Has anyone dealt with this? How may I fix this? Sanding? Electrical Tape? Epoxy?

At this point, I don't want to buy another paddle, just to have it demolished by my teammates (or was it my timing/reach/pull that was out-of-sync?).

Next season...back to wood?

I have a theory.

Carbon fibre attracts dim wits.

No, seriously. How else can you explain owning a wooden paddle for years, with nary a scratch? You sit around intelligent people on your team who can count, and when the coach asks for the first 10 strokes of a start, everyone can count to 10 effectively, and then all stop at the same time.

Tremendous.

However, once you spend $200.00 on a nice carbon fibre paddle, suddenly, the knuckleheads come out of the woodwork:

"EIGHT! NINE! TEN! Let it run-"

*CRACK!*

"...sorry..."

Or else:

"Back it down.... back it down... let it run-"

*SMACK!*

"...sorry..."

Clearly, there is much more research to be done. Maybe we'll discover a complex physiological effect of carbon fibre upon the human body, much as in the way that kryptonite affects Superman, perhaps.

Maybe there is something other-worldly about the carbon fibre properties that causes a reduction of intelligence, motor function, and coordination of paddlers within the immediate vicinity, but leaves the owner untouched, which is the really troubling part of this theory. A bond between owner and paddle?


In any case, I have the same problem as you: wear along the edges. A small amount of resin, or epoxy along the edge, smoothed out, and allowed to dry ought to do the trick.

I'll never go back to a wooden paddle, not after going carbon fibre, despite the dim wits. Going carbon fibre was the best thing I ever did for my stroke.

Good luck.

find a better team..

Forum Troll that was very witty.

Wear along the edges would indicate you are scraping your paddle along the side of the boat. You may also be getiing banged by your teammates or maybe you're doing the banging. Probably same would happen if you used wood.

My advise to you is don't spend $200 on a paddle until you're ready for one. Wooden paddles cost $40.

Second bit of advise is to get your paddle forward and out of the way when you let it run so the moron behind you who can't count to ten doesn't hit you.

As far as fixing the one you have, take it to the guy you bought it from and pay them to do it. Money doesn't seem to be a problem.

Sounds like a number of possibilities. Use a beater for practise and your good carbon paddle for races. If that fails kill the bugger in front or behind you! I have owned mine for 5 years with only one minor dent and the edges are fine!

90% of the damage is from races, not practice. The problem is, the guy behind me in races is almost never behind me during practice.

I recommend using 5-minute appoxy on the edges of the blade. It will take most of the beating and leave the paddle protected.

...of course this only works if your hitting the side of the boat during races. I wouldn't cover the whole blade with it.

Thanks. This is definitely paddle-on-paddle battle damage, not boat-whacking.

Stay away from 5 minute epoxy if you want the repair to last. Use boat epoxy that hardens in 20 minutes/ Most good epoxies will cure (not harden) within a week. So after you repair it don't use it for 5 - 7 days.

5-7 days. that is not good epoxy. use west system. 24hrs and you are good to go. a layer on the edge will give some protection, but it won't last if it gets abused.

"Wear along the edges would indicate you are scraping your paddle along the side of the boat."

Nope, always. I know some national level paddlers who complain about the same thing. I don't know what the hell it is...

The odd bonk along the side of the boat once in a very long while couldn't do this. I'm even inclined to think it might have something to do with my paddle bag... The constant putting it in/taking it out, maybe?

"Use boat epoxy that hardens in 20 minutes/ Most good epoxies will cure (not harden) within a week."

(This guy sounds like he knows what he's talking about.)

Check! Thanks.

what kind of paddle?

"5-7 days. that is not good epoxy. use west system. 24hrs and you are good to go. a layer on the edge will give some protection, but it won't last if it gets abused."

West System is good enough resin. But read directions carefully, 24 hrs in most case will only get you to about 60-70% full strength of the epoxy. 5-7 days will give you the full cure (for room temperature cured epoxy)and closer to 100% cured strength.

Not all epoxies are the same.

Thank you to the people who actually answered the dude's question instead of piping in the usual crap, mostly thinly veiled (or completely transparent) insults.

Me, I'm sticking with my woody. A little fine grit sandpaper, a little varnish and you're good to go.

It's true what they say, though: Once you go black...

Carbon fibre has made all of the difference in the world. Try it out. Or better still, don't. Once you do, you'll have to go back to using that piece of crap wooden paddle, again. Good luck.

1. Make sure your paddle is COMPLETELY dry. The part exposed to foam core, put a hair dryer to it in lowest setting, or put it in a warm dry air circulation, to make sure no water or water vapour is trapped inside. Do not proceed to step 2 until you are really sure there are no water trapped inside. Definitely don't go to step 2 if you hear sloshing water inside.

2. Use 150 grit and up sandpaper to sand the damaged area. Lightly sand the area where you would put the epoxy resin to it. The resin will bond to the sanded part. Make sure you've wiped away all the dust at the repair site.

3. Determine if the hole exposing the foam core is small (less than 1/4" long), or large (1/4" - 2"). If it is small, skip to step 6.

4. Because the hole is large simple West System (105+205) epoxy won't do the trick. The epoxy will just run into the hole, and you won't have enough bonding agent to hold it. You will need a filler with the West System. I would recommend 403 Microfibres. Microfibres are tiny fibreglass which gives strength to the epoxy (think: concrete with rebars). If the hole is large enough, you might even need some chopped mat <chopped fibreglass> (thicker rebars) in your epoxy mix to fill the hole first.

5. For the small job, use 1 tablespoon of the filler per mini-pump of 105 + 205, use more if you think the gap is longer.

6. Use a small disposable paint brush of decent quality. Try to use a real hair bristles (1/4" diameter brush is best) Costs about $1-$1.50 at your local Cdn. Tires. Don't use foam brushes, or black bristle brushes. Use plenty of Painter's tape (green colour one, don't use white masking tape), around the surrounding area. Make sure to cover any part of your paddle which you might get resin on it. Get a pair of disposable gloves (not really necessary). If you want to save your $1 paint brush have some Acetone on the side ready. Don't use paint thinner.

7. Once you mix it together (the 105+205, or the 105+205+403), a chemical reaction starts on a micro-level. Mix it well. Make sure your mix is in a disposable thick plastic container, do not use glass/foam cups/thin dixie plastic cups/paper cups. When the curing comes to a head it will be hot enough to burn through thin containers, or crack glass. When you're done, everything will be trashed. So make sure it's disposable stuff. If you want to do the job, and don't want to have it cure too fast, work in a cool room.

8. Brush it on using a very thin coat of epoxy. Don't overdo it. If you see it's dripping, you're using way too much. Once done, and it cures, use fine grit sandpaper to finish the job like 220 grit to slowly shape the repair job, and if you want to, use wet sandpaper (600+ grit) to touch it up. During the season if you see the epoxy is grinding down from your excellent paddling, use 150 grit sandpaper to lightly sand the epoxy. You don't want to take off the epoxy just so a new layer can bond to it. And again put a thin coat of 105+205. Trick is to put multiple layers of thin coats rather than to slap on one thick coat.

To get the West System epoxy resin, hardener & 403 Microfibres. Visit your local dragon boat/yacht/rowing repair guy. Grab 3 small containers with you (3 small empty water bottles will do fine (for the resin, hardener, and microfibres)), and his/her poison: Cola, Starbucks coffee, beer, weed, whatever. Best yet, get him/her to do the repair job for you.

Good luck!

finally, someone with real class comes out to help. You efforts are really apprecated ellie!!

Wow, Ellie, thanks for the awesome response!

In answer to the kind of paddle, the one sustaining the damage is a Merlin, but I don't think this situation reflects on the quality of the paddle (the paddle inflicting the damage was a Burnwater, and while I haven't examined that one closely, I did notice it had some scars as well).