Broken Epic paddle

[terryacox]

Last Saturday at the CPA pool session my Epic paddle snapped in two while I was doing a high brace with an extended paddle. I purchased this paddle last November. It is a 2-piece carbon Active Tourer with a burgundy shaft. I bought it new, although this version has been discontinued. I have used it a few times in flat water, and have not abused it. The paddle broke in the shaft, well away from the joint. I have a picture that I can send to those who are interested.

I consider this to be a potentially catastrophic equipment failure, and I would be interested in hearing from anyone who has had a similar experience, or heard of one.

Epic has offered to repair the paddle, and I have sent it off, but I doubt that I will use it again. Certainly I would recommend to anyone using an Epic paddle that they always carry a spare.

In the past, I have only carried a spare paddle on expeditions, and I have used a paddle leash on day trips. With this experience, I plan to always carry a spare when using a carbon paddle.

Terry A. Cox
Rockville

[Woody]

I broke a carbon/fiberglass paddle shaft once after getting knocked over by about a 7-8 foot breaking wave. When it snapped, it felt like there was no pulling forces on it at all. The guy at Swift told me it takes 700lbs of force to break their paddle shafts. I think if 700lbs had been yanking at my shoulder more would have broken then just the shaft

To this day I believe it must have been damaged somehow prior to me getting whacked, and this was just the push over the edge. It's one of the reasons I rarely use my paddle to get in/out of my boat any more (I've heard too many make a crack sound when doing that), and make sure not to stress it when doing a paddle float re-entry.

When carbon paddle shafts fail, they almost always do so catastrophicly. No warning at all and seems like it is always a 100% clean break. They are very tough, but when they go - they go all the way. It seems from the few I've seen break, they are likely to snap just beyond where the extra center tube ends on either side. I suspect because this creates a hard point in the shaft. Is this where yours broke?

The good news is that cheap paddles are often VERY tough. Use a stought monster as your backup paddle!

I know how you feel about having an equipment failure, and not wanting to trust it. From my notes:

"Several things I'm still angry about from yesterday - primary one that I had equipment fail on me and that got me into a bit sticky of a spot. Once I went over upside down and was being dragged along by the wave I felt back in control - just waiting for the time to roll back up, but when the paddle broke I went from one extreme to the other - no control."

Woody

http://www.kayaktrips.net/sea-kayak/000136.html

[Brian B]

The only paddle I?ve ever had break was a wooden Sawyer Sea Feather in 1996. I was practicing braces in front of the USNA sea wall in confused seas and it broke at the blade. Since then I have used carbon fiber paddles exclusively except for my homemade Greenland paddle and one Lightning with a very light fiberglass shaft. I have logged about 3000 miles on carbon fiber paddles with no incidents.

I?ve been using Epic carbon fiber paddles almost exclusively since Nov 2004 and have logged over 400 miles on them with no problems. This includes teaching and doing rescues and bracing. Recently a friend did several braces, rolls and rescues in gale conditions including three foot seas with an Epic carbon fiber paddle and had no problems.

[gwelker]

One of the issues with any type of cutting edge technology product, such as graphite/carbon paddles is that the margins of error in the manufacturing process are often not well understood or defined. And I've never even heard of an engineering design guide standard for paddles.

In the quest for weight savings, we need to be cognizant of what we are potentially giving up. It's like light beer - it can't be less filling and still taste great. When you buy a very lightweight paddle you should understand that you are giving up some of the strength that would be in a heavier paddle of the same material. Over the years I have seen numerous graphite/carbon paddles break - always in the shaft away from the ferrule. As Woody noted, all of the breaks I have seen have been catastrophic - no warning signs. I have also seen several wooden paddles of euro and greenland design break. Wood is a material with inherent inconsistancies in its structure (such as knots and grain) and a well made wood paddle minimizes these inconsistances, but again, just like a graphite paddle, the closer you push the limits on weight the less margin of safety you have for possible breakage. I have yet to see a glass paddle break in the shaft. I have seen one very light glass paddle break in the blade when the extended grip was used and the paddler didn't know how to properly brace. Perhaps backup paddles should be glass.

Last year I experimented with building a number of foam and graphite paddles. I could come up with very very lightweight paddles, but I pushed the margin too close on them, and they all (except one so far) have ended up failing - almost always catastrophically. In the case of one paddle, I was surfing along on a wave, dug down with a stroke, and suddenly realized the lower half of the paddle was missing. Surfing the remainder of the wave with the short half of a paddle was invigorating! But, as always, I was carrying a spare paddle and was able to finish the trip using the spare.

I have one wood paddle that I made out of an extremely light piece of cedar. The paddle is a joy to use, but the lower the density of red cedar the lower the breaking strength. I would not trust that paddle in surf or rough conditions. It only comes out for calm protected paddles, and as always, I carry a spare paddle.

How close you cut that margin of safety is a personal decision, but you need to be cognizant of the consequences, which, in this case, could include the breakage of a paddle at a very awkward or dangerous moment.

I have mentioned the idea of carrying a spare several times, and it has been referred to in some of the posts in this thread. My personal rule is to always carry a spare on any kind of trip. But simply carrying the spare paddle is not enough. You need to be able to get the spare out of the stored location on your boat while you are on the water, in your cockpit, and by yourself. I look at many of the spare paddle storage setups on manufactured boats and can not figure out how I would get the spare out while on the water without someone paddling up to me and doing it for me. Some of these storage positions are too far toward the stern of the kayak to be reached from the cockpit. Many storage systems are rigged for the paddle blade to be the end of the spare paddle nearest the kayaker. I have tried to use spare paddles from positions where the blade is closest to the cockpit, and have either been unable to get the paddle, or had difficulty. This is especially true when the euro paddle is stored so that the tip of the blade is curving down to the deck and not up away from the deck - there is nothing to grab to get the blade, especially if you are wearing gloves for cold water.

My strong preference is to carry the spare take apart paddle with the shaft ends toward the cockpit. I have practiced getting my spare paddle out from this position and can do it easily from on the water, and from an upside down position to roll up with half a paddle. I suspect that for most people the best place to store a spare paddle is on the deck IN FRONT of the cockpit with the shaft ends facing the cockpit. This would eliminate having to turn around to get the paddles - often an area where you can not see what you are doing and are relying on feel. However, most of us, myself included, carry a bunch of other stuff on our front decks, precluding keeping the paddle here unless it's a greenland paddle.

See my blog at http://mysite.verizon.net/gdwelker/ to see photos of boats with different deck riggings for storing paddles.

At this point I get to put in a plug for carrying a greenland type paddle. The greenland type storm paddle is shorter than the standard greenland paddle, and will fit on most kayak stern decks without significant overhang of the stern. Carrying a storm paddle as your backup allows you to grab a paddle that is already assembled and ready to paddle with when you need it. Can you assemble your take apart paddle while bouncing around in bad conditions? Can you roll up using only half of your take apart paddle? If you know how to roll, you can roll up with a storm paddle almost as easily as with a full greenland paddle, and we know rolling with the greenland is easier than the euro.

End of greenland plug.

Spare paddle don't need to be the same model you normally paddle with, and can definitly be less expensive models. My first spare paddle was a sevlar screw apart kayak/raft paddle - but at least I had a spare! My second one had a metal shaft and plastic blades - but I had a spare!

Oh yeah, and when was the last time you put together that spare paddle and actually paddled with it?[url][/url]

[Brian H]

Hi All,

About 10 years back I was starting the race at the Captiva Classic in Florida. I was using my favorite paddle at the time, a 220 bent shaft "power master" by Lendal. At the catch of my first stoke the blade snapped in half! My harmony was greatly disturbed. But, I certainly did not feel that Lendal was a paddle Brand that I could not trust.

I was at a major symposium watching eskimo rescues being practiced, the victum upside down in his NDK kayak was pierced accidently by a Valley Kayak performing the rescue. The NDK kayak shattered and splintered. I know that NDK makes a fine kayak and is a quality brand.

Point is, things happen to kayaks and paddles when least expected. It is good to always be prepared.

Thats why I love the SK102 concept, its the only "symposium" I know that has the interest of the kayaker at heart without promotion of a Shop, Brand, BCU, ACA, AARP, CBS...whatever. Just the joy of kayaking, skills and saftey.

Regards,

Brian H.