2-piece paddle shaft won't pull apart

I have a Grey Owl Mistral paddle. It has a 2 piece take-apart composite shaft, but after using it only 3 or 4 times, it is very hard to pull the two halves apart. (Yes, I'm pushing the release button.) Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Mark


14 replies:

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RE: 2-piece paddle shaft won't pull apart

Here's 3:

1. Make sure that it's being held straight (no downward bending to cause excess friction)

2. Clean the joint

3. Lubricate the joint with some graphite powder. Be careful, this can get very messy. Wear old clothes, us only a very little powder and do it outdoors when there's no wind.

Laszlo

 

RE: 2-piece paddle shaft won't pull apart

I have a similar problem.  I have an old paddle with a metal shaft that is totaly stuck together.  I have tried many applications of WD-40, but nothing has worked.  Any ideas on how to geth this one apart?

Lazlo, I like your graphite cure, but can't use it unless I get the friggin thing apart.

Paul

RE: 2-piece paddle shaft won't pull apart

How about some physics....Try wrapping an ice pack around the male part and a hotpad around the female part. Wrap the pads directly on either side of the joint.  The ice pack will hoepfully cool the male end and shrink it slightly.  The hotpad will hopefully the heat the female part and expand it slightly.  The combination of the two should provide more clearance in the joint.

The only thing I'm not sure of is the effectiveness of this technique with composite materials.

RE: 2-piece paddle shaft won't pull apart

How about some physics....Try wrapping an ice pack around the male part and a hotpad around the female part. Wrap the pads directly on either side of the joint.  The ice pack will hoepfully cool the male end and shrink it slightly.  The hotpad will hopefully the heat the female part and expand it slightly.  The combination of the two should provide more clearance in the joint.

The only thing I'm not sure of is the effectiveness of this technique with composite materials.

RE: 2-piece paddle shaft won't pull apart

First try heating up the female side with a hair drier.  Start by just spinning it , then work on pulling it apart.

Once you have it apart take some 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the male part being careful not to sand to much.

And hopefully this little lesson has taught you to wash your paddles completely and very well.  This was most likely caused from very tiny particles of sand or salt that got in there.

RE: 2-piece paddle shaft won't pull apart

kayakkev,

Excellent suggestion.  Will let you know if that does the trick.  I have been tempted a few times to hit it with the torch, but there is a plastic coating that would make a real mess.  Regarding the lesson learned, keep in mind that this got stuck back in the days I was living on the beach in Cancun.  The brain was hardly working well enough to find my way up the beach much less remembering to clean the paddle shaft.  Yes, it is salt in there.

Thanks, Paul

RE: 2-piece paddle shaft won't pull apart

Salt dissolves in water.... have you tried soaking the joint in fresh water as a prelude to trying to twist & pull the two pieces apart? (You might also enlist a friend to help with the twisting and pulling...but be careful that you don't fall over backwards when/if you suddenly suceed in pulling the paddle halves apart --)

Regular rinsing and lubrication will prevent this from happening in the future...

and-- look on the bright side: it is better to have a two piece paddle that you can't disassemble that one that won't go together....

 Julie K

RE: 2-piece paddle shaft won't pull apart

Yeah Paul, been there done that, how do you think I know how to fix it???

 

And Julie, where were you when I was doing mine?  Fell flat on my butt! LOL

RE: 2-piece paddle shaft won't pull apart

Kayakkev-- where was I when you were doing yours? Bracing myself against the hood of my car at the take-out so I wouldn't fall over backwards while pulling a stuck paddle apart.... I got real religious about rinsing and lubrication after that....

Julie K.

RE: 2-piece paddle shaft won't pull apart

Julie,

What are you using for lubrication on the paddle?

Thanks,

Mark

RE: 2-piece paddle shaft won't pull apart

Whether it's salt or rust, a good way to avoid problems in the first place is to store the paddle in 2 pieces.

Of course, cleaning & lubrication is still important, but they're a lot easier when the paddle is apart.

Laszlo

RE: 2-piece paddle shaft won't pull apart

I agree with Lazlo-- it is a good idea to store a two piece paddle in two pieces. The  time I got mine stuck was a few years ago when I was on a multi-day trip, where I had no need to break down the paddle each night, hence the tug-o-war with it in at the take-out and the pledge to keep it clean and lubed. That was on the Missouri River in Montana, and there was mud galore!

My paddles have graphite shafts.  For lubrication -- I simply spray the joint with an areosol dry silicone lube -- a couple times a year or so. You can get the stuff at any auto parts store, among other places.  I also dunk both ends of the joint in the water before I assemble them to rinse off any sand/grit they might have picked up and rinse them in clean fresh water afterwards (which is what the manufacturer (Eddyline/Swift) recommends). The folks at Swift also suggest chilling a stuck paddle ferrule with ice before trying to pull it apart....

  Julie K

RE: 2-piece paddle shaft won't pull apart

You don't mention if your composite joiner is glass or carbon fiber. If it's carbon fiber, heating by itself has little chance of working as carbon has nearly a zero coefficiant of expansion. It is however, porous, assuming it was made of pre-preg and not laid up wet by hand.

Anything with silicon is disasterous around composites as it penetrates the reinforcing material and make futures repairs impossible. Nothing will stick to it:(

But in this case, it may be your only hope. But before I resorted to silicon try this technique: Get a cardboard box slightly bigger than a shoe box and cut a slot big enough for the shaft into both ends. Somewhere in the middle, cut a hole about the size of a silver dollar and then make slits about one inch long radiating outwardes. Push a hair drier, not a hot air gun, into the hole and set the drier on low. Lay the paddle into the slots and close the top. Monitor it for temperature. It should not exceed about 140 to 160. Be sure to leave some outflow holes in the box or your hair drier will burn up. Once the shaft is thoroughly warm, about 20 minutes, take it out, douce it with water and pull like crazy. If that doesn't work, repeat the process only with WD40 or a silicon based lub instead of water. IF you get lucky and it comes apart, sand the ferrules with 600 grit wet until a good, smooth fit is achieved.

RE: 2-piece paddle shaft won't pull apart

If the handle is carbon, heating will not help and might make it worse.  Some graphite has negative coeff of thermal expansion.  Lubricate, twist and pull!

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