Hello everybody. Im new to the board and really stoked to have this resource. I’ll try not to way everyone down with questions but…
Ive been paddling for awhile. Coming from Colorado and surfing during the off season was easy, so when I moved back to SoCal, I got into outrigger paddling. Its a blast, but I still wanted to do something on my own. I saw some video clips of the hawaii boys and started Hoe Nalu around for diving and a workout more than surfing. I was on borrowed boards, going out to offshore reefs and diving, and having a blast.
Long story short, Im in the middle of scrubbing out 2 SUP boards for me and my girl (one will be more of a tandem that my fatboy self can paddle) and I really dont want to drop more money on paddles. I need a few more and was wondering about materials
Im not set up for major wood working, but I could probably glue up a blade and shaft, but was wondering about a possible fiberglass/carbon fiber/kevlar layup. I can have my buddy at a bike shop weld up a shaft and handle out of T-6061 and throw a bend in the end, then just lay up glass over that, but how much bend? Do we think the glass would hold up under moderate leans in moderate SoCal/Baja surf? SHould I go with more high tech fabrics?
Im not here to put the current paddle guys out of the loop, I just think I could make a decent paddle and have backups for the cost of one paddle.
Ohh, and CarveNalu, all the pictures I saw before the thread was puller were awesome!!!
