Need remedy for tightly fitting paddle shafts

[PeterB]

I've had a Werner Ikelos paddle for a few years , purchased as a spare but I've been using it recently, and the two halves are a very tight fit: they're hard to fit together and take apart.My regular/everyday Werner paddle assembles and comes apart effortlessly, so I'm not used to this difficulty.

Does anyone have a remedy for tightly fit paddle shafts? Sanding? Lubricant? Werner customer service? Does it just get better on its own with age and use?

Thanks in advance,

Peter

[bob budd]

I've had a Werner Ikelos paddle for a few years , purchased as a spare but I've been using it recently, and the two halves are a very tight fit: they're hard to fit together and take apart.My regular/everyday Werner paddle assembles and comes apart effortlessly, so I'm not used to this difficulty.

Does anyone have a remedy for tightly fit paddle shafts? Sanding? Lubricant? Werner customer service? Does it just get better on its own with age and use?

Thanks in advance,

Peter

I would try silicon lubricant, then perhaps customer service. We all get better with age but this sort of interface would be expected to improve with use (and degrade with lack of use). It also bears noting that a spare paddle lashed repeatedly to the deck will build up salt and perhaps become unmatable (so should be rinsed - unless you use a storm paddle).

[Gcosloy]

I've used 320 or 400 wet&dry on the male part with success. Gentle and twist and test frequently. Less is more!

[Suz]

Hey Peter,

Do nothing and just adopt this new method of taking apart your paddles. Don't laugh, just try it. With your paddle held behind your knees, hold on either side of the paddle join. Your arms will be on either side of your knees. Depress the button and then spread open your knees. Your paddle will magically come apart.

My paddles have always been a bit sticky and I have always had trouble. A friend showed me this method and while it seems a bit silly, it really works like magic. Yesterday I put together two wrong halves - one of mine and one of someone else's... a Werner Twist and a Werner Stikine. They magically popped apart without any help from anyone else.

JUST TRY IT AND STOP LAUGHING!

Suz

[Phil Allen]

Hey Peter,

Do nothing and just adopt this new method of taking apart your paddles. Don't laugh, just try it. With your paddle held behind your knees, hold on either side of the paddle join. Your arms will be on either side of your knees. ......

JUST TRY IT AND STOP LAUGHING!

Suz

This post is useless with out pictures

[Suz]

Just TRY it. I promise. I keep meaning to show Danny Mongno so he can take it on the road...

[PeterB]

I've tried this method, and it does work, but I want more than that: I 'm in the habit of taking apart my paddle whenever I land and then back together when I set off again. This is a good method but not for someone in a bit of a hurry, which I often am when I'm joining or separating my paddle halves.

[Suz]

The only other option for quick take apart/together is to have Jason do it. He somehow always manages take apart for me when I have issues. I don't think this will be faster though (only easier when he is with you).

Actually - he really ends up cleaning it up for me by sticking his finger in the shaft and wiping it out. (I think a kitchen bottle cleaner would also work nicely). I suspect that I am not very good at rinsing my paddles off regularly although I do always take them apart for transport and then back together (sorta - just the very tip, not engaged) for storage in the barn. I always seem to have stuff inside the shaft. I do think that the paddle on the deck tends to get sand and salt and stuff in it and perhaps my not very good maintenance causes it to accumulate. I alternate between my regular and spare to get equal use on both.

[PeterB]

this paddle has never been on my deck, has only been used recently, and is very clean (I meant that I had originally bought it as a backup paddle, not a spare.) so encrustation is not the issue: this paddle is just tight, and I would like it to be ... not so tight, like my other Werner, which is,for me, perfect: it slides together quickly and effortlessly, comes apart quickly and effortlessly, and is still quite firm, nowiggle between halves when assembled.

[florriej]

If you're sure it's not encrustation then this isn't relevant, but when my paddle started getting sticky I soaked the ends in very hot water and after that they were smooth as silk to disengage! Florrie

[jason]

I've had a Werner Ikelos paddle for a few years , purchased as a spare but I've been using it recently, and the two halves are a very tight fit: they're hard to fit together and take apart.My regular/everyday Werner paddle assembles and comes apart effortlessly, so I'm not used to this difficulty.

Does anyone have a remedy for tightly fit paddle shafts? Sanding? Lubricant? Werner customer service? Does it just get better on its own with age and use?

Thanks in advance,

Peter

You can lend me the paddle, my paddle junctions loosen over time.

[prudenceb]

If it's an essentially new and unused paddle, and isn't performing as it should, I would say just return it ASAP to Werner and make them either make it work right or give you a new one that does. You spent a lot of $$ on that paddle. It should do what it's supposed to do. It doesn't. Return it and make it their problem to solve and not yours.

pru

[ejwilliams]

I have a new Werner and it was frustratingly tight to put together and take apart to start, and I struggled with it, but now it is better with use and rinsing it off well after ocean trips. I would rather have it too tight than loosen up too much over time. As a beginner, I was told not to take paddles apart and put them back together any more than you have to, especially around salt water and sand, to keep the ferrules in good shape and to not wear them out too quickly. Personally, when I use the take-apart, I never take the paddle apart until the end of the trip, but then again, I am more accustomed to using a one piece paddle.

[Gcosloy]

There is a difference between a stuck paddle joint and a tight one. If the joint is stuck try this: leave the paddle outdoors overnight when the temps go down to the 40's or less. Prepare a towel soaked in hot water and wrap the joint for about 5 min. See if you can take it apart now. The theory is the ferrules may shrink in diameter. The hot towel expands the outer ferrule while leaving the inner ferrule still reasonably colder.

[spuglisi]

I like that one Gene. I've used a similar technique to remove wristpins from motorcycle pistons works like a charm fr

[nancysan]

Just as an aside, I have major problems with the very same paddle model, though mine is bent shaft. I gave it up it was such a problem. I once took it to NESC and Joel got it apart when no one else or no other method worked. It has never worked right since. Should have sent it to Werner back when it was relatively new.

[Pintail]

I cannot imagine why anyone would advise not to take a paddle apart more than necessary! That sounds bizarre. I have had Werners for many years and always dry them before putting them away -- and that includes drying the male section of the joint.

[Suz]

Actually, Christopher is correct. Werner paddles recommends taking apart and rinsing after each paddle. Although perhaps the taking apart each time you get out of the boat is what was recommended. Although, I do that too as my cockpit is short (short legs and foam bulkheads) and if I put a whole paddle into the cockpit, it falls out if you move the boat. So, I usually take apart and shove it into the cockpit during breaks.

I think a call to Werner customer service is in order to ask for suggestions to make the paddle less sticky.

[scamlin]

I'd second Gene's suggestion if the stickiness was a problem when the shaft was new: gentle, repeated sanding with 400 wet paper. I had that problem with some Lendals a few years ago when they moved production to the U.S. the parts were not longer interchangable. Worked like a charm and no fixed the problem permanently. As Gene says, less is more.