Repairing a paddle shaft is very similar to creating a set of split paddles. I have a pair of Werner Players that were pretty much brand new but had snapped near the right hand blade. The technique I use here could be used to repair the shaft on pretty much any paddle and could even be used to shorten or adjust the feather on a sound paddle.
The first task was to clean up the two exposed ends of the shaft. I have a bike steering tube cutting guide that is ideal for this job as the cut is clean and perpendicular to the shaft. Doing this probably lost around 3cm from the overall length of the paddle.
I used a hacksaw with a standard blade to cut the shaft.
Once cleaned the spigot was sanded down to size and I added several 5mm holes to aid with the bonding of the glue. I used rapid fix epoxy glue and glued all parts in place.
I then used another set of paddles to get the feather set just right. The paddles were then taped up and put to one side to cure. Around 20 minutes later I cleaned up the joint ready for a fresh layer of epoxy to ensure the seal was nice and water tight.
Around £10 = a saved set of paddles.
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