Hi there,
recently I bought a Fanatic 100 pro paddle.
I cut it to size, glued the handle but after the first session I heard water in the shaft.
However the handle is glued very well, some water came in and is now stuck right above the blade...
If I shake the paddle with the blade up I can hear the water slushing just above the blade where it says 'Union Joint System'.It stays there and seems to be blocked.
Before I do anything stupid I thought it might be a good idea to search for a solution over here...
any help or advice is welcome!
thanks,
Charlie

This can happen with any paddle and no matter how careful you are with gluing if there's any temp change when the glue hardens you can get a pin hole form as air is either going in or out.

I think the best way to get the water out is place the paddle in the sun with where you think the hole is down and as the paddle warms up the water will bubble out the hole.

This can be tricky but if there's not much there it should dry out eventually.. and then it's just a matter of smearing some epoxy glue around the join hoping to seal the hole.

If it's only a small amount it might only be a tea spoon full of water. It's no big deal and shouldn't effect the performance of the paddle and even effect the weight by much.

You can ask at the shop where you bought the paddle and see what they recommend.

It depends what glue you used. We normally put our paddle handles on with a glue gun. If water does eventually get into the paddle, carefully heat the handle and shaft with a heat gun. The handle will then easily slide off. Drain the water and attach again with the heat gun making sure you use plenty of glue to seal the shaft. Wrap a bit of electrical tape or heat sheink around the join and you're good to go.

If you used araldite which some shops use it's going to be a harder job. Maybe impossible. I never use araldite for exactly this reason.

Select to expand quote

NNSUP said..
If you used araldite which some shops use it's going to be a harder job. Maybe impossible. I never use araldite for exactly this reason.

Araldite, just like epoxy resin, softens when it is heated at roughly 50C above its curing temp. I routinely remove handles that I have glued with 5mn epoxy glue, it is very easy: wear gloves (carbon conducts heat) just heat 2 minutes uniformly with a heat gun (a hair dryer should work) the glued area, grab the handle and twist, voila!

This may not work well on fiberglass paddles however, as carbon fibers conducts heat, allowing the heat to quickly reach the underlying glue, but glass isolates from heat.

It can also work to separate the shaft from the blade, useful to repair broken paddles by changing one component, but this depends on the brand: if the blade was glued with resin that has been cured at high temperature, the "glue" will melt at a temperature high enough to also melt - or at least soften - the shaft or blade, and by twisting you will destroy them.

The trick to avoid pinholes in any resin repair (ding in board, paddle handle) is just to wipe the excess resin and cover the repair with airtight tape before curing. Resin or glue do not stick to flexible plastic materials such as PVC tape. This way no bubble can form. Plus you avoid excess resin to sand afterwards.

For the original poster, a quick way to dry a paddle is my "side-blown flute" method. See www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Stand-Up-Paddle/SUP/Water-in-paddle#8 But since the handle glue is the culprit, in your case, the best way is just remove the handle, get the water out, and re-glue properly (with tape covering the glue).

Thanks for the info guys.
I have tried using a heat gun to remove the carbon handle but the glue I used, Aquasure, does not soften.
it's a urethane sealant so I think it will not move easily.
Also even if the the handle could be removed, the water would stay in the shaft near the blade as it does now when I turn the paddle blade up. I hear the water moving in the shaft near the blade but it does not run down to the handle...

I have removed many handles which I had glued with araldite epoxy glue many times from Kialoa, quickblades and other carbon paddles.
Trick is to take your time with the hairdryer and get someone to hold the blade whilst you twist the handle to crack the seal. Keep the heat moving around the join and it will soon come free.
Then tip the blade up, let the water drain and leave it to dry in the sun.
Mix up a new batch of 5 min araldite , sand the inside of the shaft and then reglue the handle back in. I usually tape around the join and make sure it is well sealed .
Maybe even shorten your blade will your at it
Waz

If the blade joint is leaking and water remains in the blade area, removing the handle is useless. The blade joint is always the most likely culprit for leaks regardless. Dry and/or drain and reseal per the DJ instructions above. If that doesn't work, do the DJ back to the shop.

If it's not your blade causing the leak but rather the epoxy join, a great tip is to use some teflon plumbers tape over the epoxy join (once it's hardened) before you tape it up. Since I've been using this method, I've had zero issues with water getting in

Sup charlie just read up a little on Aquasure, its like a clear urethane glue, that sticks surfaces together. It has a heat range from -20 degrees celcius to around 200 degrees celcius, so if you can get the paddle up to that heat in the vice, you can twist it off.
This can be a problem as the resin in the carbon fibre will start to melt between 200-250 degrees celcius depending on the type of resin/glue , if you are very lucky and the resign may have high heat tolerance, 300-320 degrees celcius. The glass/carbon fibres have a heat tolerance of 800 degrees so you dont have to worry about them. If you heat the paddle it will likely become softer and more pliable and eventually melt the Aquasure, however it is unlikely that it would return to the exact shape needed after cooling down.
I couldnt find out what resin the paddle has to bond/shape its 3k carbon sheets.
It looks like heating is out of the question and solvents are also a no win with this product. You could try lava soap or another soap type of product but this may take weeks of soaking.
(If you have time, and another paddle to use, you should be able to carefully remove the Aquasure by breaking the seal around the inner shaft and then using fine sand paper or razor blades to slowly break away the glue. Then use another form of glue as stated above to re-seal your paddle. See Colas advice on melting carbon above. )
The 3K carbon paddle is a very good paddle and worth taking the time to reglue the shaft. Or you could just buy a new paddle as the sales are on. Good luck with it.