INFORMATION
Here are the parts that make up the blade section of the shaft. The aluminum paddle shaft has been machined, bent and filled with aircraft-quality PVC foam to form a curving surface to hold the blade. The open end of the shaft has been plugged with urethane foam, creating an airspace that makes the paddle float. A rigid PVC end cap forms a solid base for the reinforcing rivet, which will be added at the blade tip. The adhesives and surface treatments that hold it together are the products of years of experimentation and testing. I received a U.S. Patent, number 6,991,501 B2, in January 2006.
The shaft parts are made from black anodized 6061 T-6 aluminum alloy. This is a hard alloy that can stand the stress on the lock buttons without changing shape, avoiding the looseness of lock-button designs in soft aluminum and fiberglass. Shaft diameters are fairly small, 1 1/8" in the T-1 and T-2 and 1" in the R-1. It's easy to build up the grip to a larger diameter if needed (see About Handgrips ) so all hand sizes (even kids with the R-1) can find a comfortable grip.
Aluminum is a excellent material for shafts, surpassed only by carbon fiber. Since aluminum shafts are most always used with heavy molded blades, they don't have an image as a performance material, but they will better any wood or 'glass shaft for strength/weight, stiffness or toughness. Any racer can tell you, stiffness is a virtue in paddles. Flexure just soaks up energy.
The T-series paddles in the stock 230 cm (90.5") size have a 93 cm (36.5") center section. This section gets longer or shorter for the custom models, while the 75 cm (29.5")blade sections stay the same. The blade sections can be telescoped into the center sections until the blades hit the center, making a "storage mode" 193 cm (76") long (for the 230 cm model) that some find useful for an on-deck spare.
Section joints are made with two sizes of tubing that "telescope" together. This avoids "swaging" the shaft to a smaller diameter. Swaging requires a soft alloy and button wear is likely. The hard alloy keeps the lock buttons from wearing, but the fit between the two tubes is never perfect. To counteract this I've developed plastic fittings for the shaft ends that fill the gap between the sections and give a smooth, "wiggle free" joint.
Paddle Blades are cut from white ABS sheet and have a durable silkscreened logo. ABS (Acrylonitrile-Butyl-Styrene) has a wide range of properties depending on the proportions of the three elements. The stuff used for car and truck bumpers has a lot of Butyl and is very flexible. The ABS in these blades is a little stiffer than the grades used in car side panels and snowmobile bodies, but it's still pretty tough. A great feature of ABS is its low density, 65 pounds/cubic foot, the same as sea water. The blades are cut from 3/32" (2.7 mm) thick sheet, and a T-1 blade weighs 4.5 oz. If you wanted to make this blade from fiberglass or carbon fiber and have it weigh the same, it could be only 1.5 mm (less than 1/16") thick. An aluminum blade would be only 1/32" (1 mm) thick! Both the 'glass and aluminum blades would be stronger than ABS in terms of tensile strength, but what counts is toughness, because the blade is the part of the paddle that takes the hits, from rocks, gravel bars, pushing off, you name it.
The sizes of the blades are as follows:
T-2, 7 x 20", 115 square inches (742 square cm)
T-1, 6 x 20", 95 square inches (613 square cm)
R-1, 5 x 18", 83 square inches (535 square cm)
For help on finding the right blade, see Choosing Length & Blade Size.
WARRANTY
Pacific Designs warrants all paddles to be free from defects in materials and workmanship for three years from date of purchase. If damage is due to manufacturer's defect, the paddle will be repaired or replaced by Pacific Designs at no charge. This warranty is void if damage is caused by accident or abuse.
Pacific Designs also has a thirty-day unconditional return policy on paddle sales. The paddle may be returned, for any reason, in any condition, for a full refund for thirty days after delivery.
I will quote for repairs and replacement parts at rates roughly proportional to their new cost.
Links to paddling websites
Want to suggest a link? Email me at steve@pacificdesignspaddles.com
To magazines:
SeaKayakerMag.com (Best boat testing reports, some available online.) PaddlerMagazine.com,Canoe&Kayak Magazine.com
To general paddling sites:
Paddling.net, ClubKayak.com, KayakOnline.com, Sit-on-topkayaking.com
To personal sites:
Jon Hartz's site on kayaking in San Diego
To some interseting boats:
Wavewalk.com makes paddling catamarans, especially handy for fishing because you can stand in them.
Alpacka Raft.com makes ultralight (4lb!) pack rafts
To Fishing sites:
Austin Kayak Fishing.com
Pacific Designs Privacy Policy
Pacific Designs does not use purchased customer lists, and does not sell or otherwise distribute its customer database or e-mail contacts for any purpose.
Customers who use credit cards to purchase Pacific Designs products through our SecurePay processor will have the last four digits on the card recorded for card identification, but the first twelve digits are not known to us or to SecurePay and are not recorded anywhere in the system.