What about a canoe paddle with an adjustable Lenght Lock System like the one Epic use on their paddles. I was playing with my computer this morning and end up with this design.
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| Adjustable Canoe Paddle.JPG | 8.21 KB |
| Leght Lock for canoe paddles.JPG | 7.99 KB |
Submitted by Harry on Wed, 11/12/2008 - 10:21am
Iinteresting but there is the mater of doing your change overs, you would knock your hands pretty well if you tried changing with that locking system. But I could see a market for beginner paddlers or kids that would be growing. If you could make the locking mechanism more compact then it would be great.
#1 Wed, 11/12/2008 - 10:35am
I`ve seen even Outrigger paddles from trivium......very nice looking. But i think it was a prototype i spotted....
http://www.triviumpaddles.com/Crew%20conn.jpg
#2 Wed, 11/12/2008 - 11:06am
Depending on how tightly the two pieces for the shaft is connected wouldn't the power transfer to the blade be less than that of a one piece paddle? I don't know.
#3 Wed, 11/12/2008 - 11:34am
Dragon boat paddles can be purchased with an adjustable shaft that is hot glued to length. If you wish to change the length a hair drier is used to loosen the glue and then it is reset.
Works fine.
Steely
#4 Wed, 11/12/2008 - 12:20pm
Can't see doing change overs with the first design, but I suspect that if someone put some thought into it a pretty smooth clamp could be designed. Of course it would be heavier than a regular paddle. Maybe its a solution to a problem that doesn't really exist.
#5 Wed, 11/12/2008 - 1:47pm
hey Harry, this site is pretty useful huh? I mean you got pretty good feedback about your question right?
#6 Wed, 11/12/2008 - 9:31pm
Pop's got a new friend ;-)
#7 Wed, 11/12/2008 - 9:40pm
Adjustable?
#8 Wed, 11/12/2008 - 9:54pm
ditto on the rough shaft. your hands will get all bus up. but at least you can lengthen your shaft to satisfy pretty much anyone out there.
#9 Wed, 11/12/2008 - 10:12pm
I think psteele got a good point - although I don't know how well the hot glue will work in summer weather conditions here in the islands, I think if would be worth a try and to move the insert area from high on the shaft to low by the blade since most peoples bottom hand is about 6 inches from the blade and you would not need to use the length lock's bulky assembly. ;-}
#10 Wed, 11/12/2008 - 11:06pm
I think it would be great for coaches when sizing paddles for novices, etc.
#11 Wed, 11/12/2008 - 11:52pm
being a dragon boat paddler i know the worst thing in the world is when the glue wears out on your paddle and you can feel the grip twisting so i would definately not recomend the glue option
#12 Thu, 11/13/2008 - 7:48am
How would any of these options affect the weight/balance of the paddle? I think it would be hard to create an adjustable paddle that felt good to paddle with. I can see where having one around to help people figure out what size to buy might be useful, but I have a hard time seeing adjustable paddles replacing what's currently used (unless someone comes up with a fabulous design that's balanced perfectly).
#13 Thu, 11/13/2008 - 8:12am
I have some internal twist locks that work on a camming principle to lock .. this is about as clean as one can get.
They took a few minutes to learn ' the trick ' how to lock them right then a few extra seconds to set them up everytime. Not everyone liked them but I did. One of these + say 6" of ferule would weigh about 1.5 ounces. Not too bad to have an adjustable length to play with and vary for conditions.
I use this lever lock now http://www.onnopaddles.com/
It weighs 18 grams, holds like a vice but even a smaller version would still be to much bulk for a canoe shaft.
Putting it lower below the hand sounds good but negatives outweigh the positive.
A simple, everyday adjustable length canoe paddle is doable.
#14 Thu, 11/13/2008 - 9:36am
You could have the inside of the top of the shaft be threaded and have a insert T-top that just screws on to the height you want. Do it in all carbon and have a simple lock/ button to stop it from rotating on you.
#15 Thu, 11/13/2008 - 9:43pm
then it would only go in 1.1/2 inch
#16 Thu, 11/13/2008 - 10:02pm
Why?
Or just use a simple push button so the in tube with the T-top slides up or down four to five inches.
#17 Thu, 11/13/2008 - 10:21pm
Too EZ : )
Just my thinking on this one ...
Spring button is cool to use and you can even spec ones that would only protrude just to the 'top' of the shaft OD leaving a smooth surface... but not as good as it could be.
Take a look @ most of the two piece kayak and stand up paddles, a lot of slop after a short time ( or even off the shelf with edit made ones ) and these ( with two halves of shaft butted together ) don't even get loaded as much the way a canoe paddle would with most of the downward force loading the button and thin wall ( shaft ) hole thousands of times + the button and same hole have to resist torsion as well like the kayak paddles. Having an oval shape ferule inside an oval shaft would be a cool thing but only prolong this latter issue for a short while though.
This is only the first of a series .. : )
#18 Thu, 11/13/2008 - 11:00pm