Kayak Paddle Park

Glen Smith · Post by **Glen Smith** » Thu Nov 30, 2006 10:01 pm

I also made this paddle park for my customer's kayak. There are two bungees in the setup. One bungee gets pulled up over the hook and serves as a padding so the paddle shaft doesn't scratch the deck. The second bungee gets pulled up over the paddle shaft to hold it in place. The forward blade of the paddle rests flat on the deck bungees and the rearward blade hangs slightly off the deck. In this position a rogue wave won't pull the paddle out of place. The drip rings also provide anti-scratch protection.

[IMG:800:600]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v427/ ... re1252.jpg[/img]
[IMG:800:600]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v427/ ... re1253.jpg[/img]
[IMG:600:800]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v427/ ... re1274.jpg[/img]
[IMG:800:600]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v427/ ... re1272.jpg[/img]

Doug · Post by **Doug** » Fri Dec 01, 2006 6:49 am

Cool,
How solid is it?

Doug

.

Glen Smith · Post by **Glen Smith** » Fri Dec 01, 2006 9:06 am

In your opinion, just how solid does it have to be? It is made of Walnut which has several coats of epoxy, it is both screwed and epoxied to the deck, it is located in an area that isn't very likely to take abuse. If it does suffer damage, I will report it here.

Doug · Post by **Doug** » Fri Dec 01, 2006 12:34 pm

Just wondering how much paddle movement / play there is on the deck?

Doug

.

Glen Smith · Post by **Glen Smith** » Fri Dec 01, 2006 2:31 pm

Ok Doug, I did a test just before the kayak left the shop today. The paddle holds very well in place with very little slop at all and even then, you have to deliberately try to move the paddle. The combination of the 10" spacing between the bungee deck holes, the proximity of the bungees to the park block and the fact that the drip rings rest on the deck make it very resistant to movement.

mtpocket · Post by **mtpocket** » Fri Dec 01, 2006 5:54 pm

Quite nice. I should have made one of those. I guess it's never too late.

If I install one on my yak, how will I know when I have sanded through the varnish without sanding through the epoxy and hitting the glass. I guess you did take it down to the epoxy before installation, right?

Glen Smith · Post by **Glen Smith** » Fri Dec 01, 2006 6:07 pm

It is never too late for this type of mod. Mask off the area you want to sand and go at it (gently) with a piece of 80 grit. If your topcoat is a spar varnish, the sanding dust will probably have a yellow tinge. Clean it off often and sand until you get white dust, that's epoxy. If you do inadvertently hit the glass, it won't be a problem since you will epoxy the paddle park to the deck. I also put a flat head brass screw through the deck into the park for extra security.

Post pics when you do the job. :eyebrows

mtpocket · Post by **mtpocket** » Fri Dec 01, 2006 6:09 pm

Yeah, so you can see my mistakes.

Glen Smith · Post by **Glen Smith** » Fri Dec 01, 2006 6:11 pm

Not mistakes, occasions for artistic expression.

KenC · Post by **KenC** » Fri Dec 01, 2006 8:29 pm

I attempted something similar on my Endeavour, but I placed the bungee holes too close together, so there isn't enough stretch in them.

I will fix it, but my concern is whether the hook will end up being a knuckle-smasher.

Glen Smith · Post by **Glen Smith** » Fri Dec 01, 2006 8:35 pm

Ken, I considered the knuckle-smasher possibility so I made the park with as low a profile as I could go and still have enough wood to form a decent radius for the paddle. I also positionned it so it isn't too close to the coaming to hinder putting on the sprayskirt and not too close to the sheer to hit with each paddle stroke. I think it is in its "sweet spot". The verdict will come in once my client has paddled the boat which won't be for a while considering the fact that it is presently snowing.

Erik, Belgium · Post by **Erik, Belgium** » Tue Dec 05, 2006 6:28 am

Glen,
nice work as ever.
as far as I can see, I think you used Maroske fittings for fixing the bungees ? Right ?
Erik, Belgium.

Glen Smith · Post by **Glen Smith** » Tue Dec 05, 2006 9:08 am

Erik, the paddle park bungees just go through holes in the deck. The holes have been coated with epoxy and the bungee received a bit of silicone from the interior before pulling them tight into place.