: It took long enough, but I finally got around to updating my canoe
: paddle making page to show how the blade and shaft get joined.
: It's at the bottom, naturally....

: http://ngc704.home.comcast.net/~ngc704/paddles/

Kurt,
Thanks for the update.

If I had had this info when I made the 4 Bird's Mouth paddles back in May, I would'nt have had to guess how to glue the grip and the shaft on. Glad I got them on the right ends!!

Seriously, your instructions were outstanding the way they were and anyone who has the grey matter to cut and glue up the octagon shaft likely has the smarts to sort how to attach them together. Anyway, I have to report I attached the grips incorrectly on my paddles and will have to build a few more to make it right.

After cutting an octagon plug for the shaft, I used a length of 60 grit sandpaper to round the protruding section and then drilled a similar size hole in the grip. When shaping the grip, I left it a bit oversized where it joins the shaft so once it was glued to the plug, I could smooth it to match the shape of the shaft. Just goes to show, lots of variations on how to do things.

Also, an update on the paddles I made. If you recall, I split the shaft on one I used on a 100 mile paddle trip in June after overtightening it against a thwart with a tiedown during a portage. After I got home, I closed the split with some thickened epoxy and then covered the shaft with a layer of 3.2oz cloth. I have used it several times since and it seems rock solid. Additionally, the other 3 paddles I made without any cloth on the shafts are also holding up just fine...

I'm thinking about building a double end paddle for my canoe using this construction method for the shaft and "think" I may have sorted out the blade attachment. If I get bold enough to build it, I'll take a bunch of pictures and then see if it works or breaks....

Regards,

Bob Beaullieu