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.