Friday, January 17, 2014

Day 93


I set out today with my new paddle.  I felt heavier than my older storm paddle, but I liked that it gripped the water better.


I used a slightly different design.  It came recommended as a good internet source.  I drew the lines onto the wood and the three brothers and father that ran the factory cut.  They had a different machine for everything and did an amazing job at cutting exactly right really quickly.

For a finish, they didn’t have boiled linseed oil, but they gave me something that they said was similar.

Once there was a misunderstanding, and they cut a hard angle into the shaft, but I was watching their work closely and yelled “No! No! No!” and we patched it up with wood glue.

As I paddled out of the port I realized I left my phone behind.  Oh well.  A mile in and a car pulled into a parking lot near the water and honked loudly.  Rats.  I made a beach landing, thanked my friend profusely, and then a beach launch.

I don’t think the new paddle is any faster than the previous one.  Also, it makes my hands bleed.  At around mile six my hands began to feel sore and while I tried changing my style a little, there’s only so much I can do.

At mile eight I looked at my hands.  They were bleeding.  Not a lot, but with sea water constantly pouring on the wounds, they weren’t coagulating.  Not to mention I was still paddling and making things worse.

I switched back to my old paddle.  And pulled over at the first beach that looked good.  I would have to let my hands heal before I could paddle any more.

Maybe if I sand it down a lot, it will be smooth enough to paddle with, and weigh enough less.

The wood has a really tight grain, and fewer places where I accidently cut too deep with a rip saw.  It has more potential than my old paddle.

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Miles paddle: 9

Total since Naples: 416.5


Current Location:  39.613016,16.78204


 

7 comments:

  1. Good but this is a little short for a standard Greenland style paddle , no ?

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  2. It's a storm paddle. Eventually I'll be back to paddling with my winged and I'll need my backup to fit on my deck. I also find storm paddles easier to use, since the I can replace the wrist shift with the hand slide. If a paddle is neither feathered nor to short my brain wants to explode.

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  3. so you are going to have two storm paddles and one winged paddle? Sounds like a good idea to have two backups...

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  4. I don't know. I was thinking I might give one away, but you might be right.

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  5. hmmn, how long did you let the finish cure before using the paddle... ???

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  6. Overnight. That was enough with what I've used in the past and it was certainly dry in the morning. I think the problem was with the sanding.

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  7. Though the different finish than the one I know works is certainly a possibility.

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