: :Any two piece paddle can be drilled for 0 degrees offset. Do it
: yourself.
: I have had very good service from Aqua-Bound paddles. They have put
: any blade I want on any shaft I want and make or drill them to
: any offset.
: I like their Shred and Splat paddle blades for WW and even use the
: Shred blade for my sea kayaking paddle.
: Unless your are competitively running WW gates or always paddling
: into strong winds, there is little reason for a feathered WW
: paddle.
: Randy

Hey Randy-

Thanks for the recommendation on the paddles. A couple of dedicated playboaters I know have recommended the Shred, and I've been using an entry-level Aqua-Bound loaner in the pool. It's the playboaters who are big advocates of the 0* offset paddles, as well.

Here's what I found out with my research on Reg's "cut and paste" idea.- Soller Composites says that a ferrule should be strong enough, and they have instructions for making one. Jon says that you want to end up with a medium weight tube, but that he'd recommend using 2-3 layers the lightweight material to achieve it rather than using the medium material. I haven't seen many take-apart ww paddles, so I'll make an inner tube and restore it to solid using biaxial seamless sleeving and heat-shrink tubing on the outside. I contacted West Systems about adhesion, and they said that 105/207 would stick to any paddle, whether it was polyester, vinylester, or epoxy, after prepping the bonding area with 80-grit paper. They also said that given the fabric choice it would probably end up stronger than before the alteration.

Now to find the right paddle to take apart...

m