Paddle Care Tips

This is a page from our website about Paddle Care. I thought it would be informative here. Take a look. Tell me what you think. Taking care of your gear will ensure that your gear is useful for a long time.

PADDLE CARE
I know that when we go on our treks to the Boundary Waters our paddles take a beating. There’s just so many rocks and stuff up there! So how do you keep your paddle looking great for years to come?

PREVENTATIVE CARE
There are a few things to keep in mind while using a cedar paddle that will greatly extend their life. First try and keep the banging on the gunwales to a minimum. Cedar is a soft wood and even though there is quite a bit of epoxy and polyurethane protecting them the repeated friction this causes eats away at your paddle. Second remember that the rock guard is there to protect inadvertent jabs on the rocks. If you repeatedly use your paddle to dig into rocks and even get it twisted between things this will jeopardize the longevity of your paddle. Now if you do any of these things inadvertently or occasionally it probably won’t affect your paddle. It’s when you do these things repeatedly over months and years of use. So practice good paddling discipline and technique!

RESTORATION
Even the most careful paddler with the most durable paddle will need to do a little up-keep. So what does it take to restore the finished beauty to your paddle you may ask? Most things are easily restored with a minimum amount of work involved. First you need to identify where and what needs a little spit and polish -

Does your paddle have minor scrapes and scratches to the surface?
Once a year you should re-poly your paddle. I find the best time to do this is when the season wraps up the late fall. All you do is locate the places that require a little finishing and give them a diligent sanding - don’t go overboard with sanding. Just sand enough to give a little tooth to the surface. Use something around 200-grit sandpaper. Then brush on a marine varnish or polyurethane. For better results brush on two—three coats, sanding in between each coat. Follow directions on product. (Note: we use satin-finish to finish our paddle)

Is the damage a little more than just scratches? Can you see the fiberglass cloth poking out anywhere?
If you have gauged into the fiberglass cloth anywhere you won’t be able to get a good finish with just re-varnishing. You will need to apply some epoxy resin to the area to wet-out the fiberglass. This isn’t too much work, but does require some know-how. If any of the following talk isn’t making sense or you need more instructions please shoot us an email and we’ll help you out!
Here’s the quick version. You will need to sand the area. Make sure you sand out the varnish around the problem area. Around 200-grit sandpaper will work great here. Then you will mix the epoxy/hardener according to the product and apply a thin coat to the area - wetting it out. After this dries you will be able to sand the area again and proceed with re-varnishing the area.
(Note: epoxy resin is highly toxic and sanding uncured epoxy is even worse. Take the necessary precautions!)

Are you questioning the integrity of your paddle? Does if have splitting or cracking or something?
There are any number of things that happen to paddles over time. If it is getting into this grey area between a functioning paddle and toxic kindling send us an email and we’ll try to help you out with fixing it.

Paddle Junkie Reviews our Paddle

Earlier this summer we sent one of our Gunflint Paddles to the guys over at ThePaddleJunkie.com to test out for us. After a vigorous testing over the summer they wrote this review for us. You can check it out and more over at their website too - http://www.thepaddlejunkie.com/ - but I posted the main part of it below. Thanks for the kind words guys!

From The Paddle Junkie: Check out the review here.

"The sheer number of choices you have when choosing outdoor gear has grown to staggering heights. In a time where science and technology have invaded every facet of our lives, there is something refreshing about handling a product made from natural materials. Carbon fiber, Kevlar and fiberglass all promise increased strength and durability while reducing weight. These are all good things, but they seem remarkably alien when against the rugged backdrop of canoe country.

The guys over at Sanborn Canoe get this, while yet taking advantage of the advances available today, when appropriate. I had the opportunity to try out their Gunflint paddle this summer and it did not disappoint. This 14 degree bent-shaft paddle, designed to provide powerful strokes, helped me battle through some of the nastiest weather I have seen from inside a canoe.

When you first pick up the Gunflint you can’t help but notice how light it is. At just 18 ounces, it’s nearly 20% lighter than similar paddles from the major competitors. Strength was not an issue for this stick either. I banged it off of rocks and logs, pushed off boulders in the Horse River and used it as a third leg while trying to drag myself up a muddy rocky portage, all without any significant damage. An Epoxy blade tip, 4oz. fiberglass wrap and sparing use of epoxy add toughness without weight.

More importantly it still looks and feels like a wood paddle. It is not drenched in epoxy or marine varnish, allowing it to keep a warm natural feel. Made from red and white cedar, the color contrast in the laminates is great. Every inch of this paddle has been worked by hand and you can tell.

Not in love with the Gunflint design? Choose from any of Sanborn’s four other designs, or for a little extra you can get a custom paddle made just for you. They even have one for the kids…"

Beyond Cedar: Hardwood Baby

Product Description:

In our Minnesota line of paddles we have ventured beyond using just cedar into using hardwoods. We feel the added ash on the edge of the blade will provide added durability as will the Mahogany that sandwiches the cedar along the length of the shaft.

Our Minnesota line of canoe paddles is especially designed for the types of paddling plied in our great state - any and all types of paddling! It has a beautifully constructed hybrid blade shape. The rounded narrower tip will slip in and out of the water with ease, reducing fatigue and stress on your body, as would a traditional beavertail paddle. But flaring out towards the middle this blade will still give you the power to plow through the toughest wave or current.

The blade is sheathed in fiberglass and a hard epoxy tip is added to ward off pesky logs and rocks. And the dedicated Gunflint grip, indexed shaft and thin blade are all designed to remove stress from your hands and joints.

Choices. Choices. Choices. You can choose to get the Minnesota 14 degree bent shaft or get our Minnesota 7 which is a 7 degree bent shaft. Same great design, just a little different bend.

Great name! Our state of Minnesota has everything from canoeing on the Mississippi River to Voyageurs National Park to the one and only Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. We feel this paddle is well designed to handle those and any other conditions. So we felt Minnesota was a fitting name for a well rounded canoe paddle.

Be Looking For...

Wow. It's been forever since I've updated this thing I guess.

Just wanted to update y'all on what's been going on here at Sanborn. We had a busy summer. We sold a lot of paddles. Thanks!

We're starting to gear up for the upcoming season of paddling already! It seems like the last one just ended(for some of us! We actually just returned from a trip to the BWCA. It snowed about 5 inches on us, But still a great trip!) Some quick things we're working on for next season are kayak paddles, stand-up paddleboard paddles and we're starting to dabble in soft goods! Be looking for hammocks and things to help you with hammock camping to be rolling out soon...

I'll leave you with a few photo's of our early stages of kayak paddle designing...

Thanks to Bryan Hansel for the photo's! Find him at the great website he runs over at http://www.paddlinglight.com/