: Have you seen those zig zag folding thermarest Z-rest sleeping pads? they
: fold up ziglike stacked to a totally compact about 5 or 6in wide by 6in hi
: by 20in long rectangular compact volume. folds like a map and tight. 2
: sizes but might as well get the big one. prob get 20 - 25#floatation,
: better'n most others

If this is the same thing I've seen, it has a "Peaks and valleys" pattern like an egg carton, and when it folds the "peaks" from one side nest into the valleys of the rest. The center of the folded block of foam is a very tight fit.
You might be able to fold this over a paddle on land, but doing it in the water could be a real trick. Of course trying it out before it is needed is essential.

: then take 3 or 4ft of that netting tubing that christmas trees come stored in
: or you put them in when you buy the tree, put the folde up pad in the tube
: towards one end and invert the long end back thru the pad in the centre.

I'm not too fond of the strength of some of this material, and I think that the netting would not help help the paddle to get into the middle of the folded foam, but I think the idea has merit. Why not use some ripstop nylon? It is easily available at fabric stores, and it has little friction to impede shoving a paddle into it. If you make a tapered "tube" in roughly the shape of a leg from a pair of pants. (would that be a single pant?) you could fold up your foam pad with the narrowest end in the middle of the foam pad, and the wide end sticking out to one side. By turning that wide end back on itself, kinda like turning up the cuffs on a pant leg, it would creat a pouch to shove the entire foam pad into. You end up with a mylon lined tunnel for your paddle in the middle of your foam pad. I think using solid woven nylon fabric, rather than some mesh fabric will keep you from tearing up the foam, too.

: yu end up with both ends touching - one inside the other. pull real tight
: so it all sucks down and tie off w/ an eight knot or something easy to
: untie for bedtime.

It would be a good idea to have some sort of leash on this thing so it doesn't fall off easily -- and it won't float away if it should fall off.

Just a few thoughts

PGJ