Recently received a new Braca wing paddle.

Had a Descente' before that and it worked so well and so transparently that
never thought about the possibility that another brand could be anything but
user-friendly.

Oops!

When I saw that Braca was using an automotive-type hose clamp to secure the
adjustment mechanism, my first reaction was disbelief.... then that somebody's
making these things in their basement in the evening and on Saturdays.

The dealer, however, says that Bracas are good, durable, highly-regarded paddles
and that people learn to live with the hose clamp.

I'm having a little cognitive dissonance around the last assertion.

Braca's hose clamp is practically cutting into the flesh of my hand on dry land.
My take is that it would rip somebody's palm wide open if/when they grabbed it
hard with pruned flesh (for instance restraining a capsized boat in the surf via
a paddle leash).

First thing that comes to mind is wrapping some foam around it and duct taping
over the foam. Per the directions, however, the clamp is not
salt-water-friendly. Braca advises thorough rinsing *immediately* after
exposure to salt water.... great materials, right? sheesh!

Next, my instinct is to just remove the hose clamp and duct tape the two shafts
together. It's a pretty tight fit and the only stress I can see is the
rotational force trying to change the feather angle - and it seems like duct
tape would be more than sufficient to prevent that.

But that looks like a one-way street because to remove the hose clamp, I would
have to grind away the surrounding structure.


Anybody have some thoughts on this? ...Besides not making such a rash
assumption about the connecting mechanism before buying a paddle...-)
--
PeteCresswell