Somewhere (this NG?) I read an assertion that a FG paddle blade can be
loosened/moved by applying heat to where it's attached to the loom.

Jersey Paddler's PaddleSports 2007 is coming up and I want to shop for a
dedicated waveski paddle.

That means short, one-piece, fat blade, maybe even a flat blade... but probably
just your basic whitewater paddle (whatever that is....)

But over the past few years, I've become dialed in on no-feather paddles for all
my other paddling - forearm tendonitis...

Needless-to-say, not that many paddles are zero-feather and I've been getting by
with two-piece adjustable paddles.

Should I resign myself to changing back to feathered if I get a solid-shaft
paddle?

Or will I be able to do a one-time adjustment on whatever paddle I buy?
--
PeteCresswell

You can alter the feather of the blade, but the shaft will still have
the indexing offset. You probably won't like that. The way to do it
right is to cut the shaft at the center, sleeve in a 6" carbon fiber or
glass tube, and epoxy the whole thing back together at the feather or
lack of it you want. You can shorten the shaft at the same time if you
want. Can't lengthen it much, though.

Steve

(PeteCresswell) wrote:
Somewhere (this NG?) I read an assertion that a FG paddle blade can be
loosened/moved by applying heat to where it's attached to the loom.

Jersey Paddler's PaddleSports 2007 is coming up and I want to shop for a
dedicated waveski paddle.

That means short, one-piece, fat blade, maybe even a flat blade... but probably
just your basic whitewater paddle (whatever that is....)

But over the past few years, I've become dialed in on no-feather paddles for all
my other paddling - forearm tendonitis...

Needless-to-say, not that many paddles are zero-feather and I've been getting by
with two-piece adjustable paddles.

Should I resign myself to changing back to feathered if I get a solid-shaft
paddle?

Or will I be able to do a one-time adjustment on whatever paddle I buy?

Steve Cramer wrote:
the shaft will still have the indexing offset.

It may have. If the index is only on one hand, there won't be a
problem. That would mean, of course, only adjusting the non-indexed blade.

Rather than cutting a one-piece that's double indexed, just buy a two
piece, adjust to the angle you want and glue it in place. Use of hot
glue will allow future adjustments by reheating the joint and loosening it.

Of course, if you cut the one-piece or glue a two piece, you lose the
advantage of having a one piece in the first place - higher strength to
weight.

Mike

Per Steve Cramer:
but the shaft will still have
the indexing offset.

From context, it sounds like "indexing" is some irregularity built into the loom
so that the user can feel the orientation of the blade.

If that's true, do most paddles have this feature? I've managed to avoid it
in the three paddles I've owned so far - but they've all been two-piece
adjustables. When I want them, I make my own indexes with a little braided
line and some electrical tape.
--
PeteCresswell

(PeteCresswell) wrote:
Per Steve Cramer:
but the shaft will still have the indexing offset.

From context, it sounds like "indexing" is some irregularity built into the loom
so that the user can feel the orientation of the blade.

It might also be referred to as ovaling of the shaft.

If that's true, do most paddles have this feature?

Just checked the paddles in the garage: 3 WW (1 Werner, 1 Whetstone, 1
Harmony), 5 touring (1 Rough Stuff, 1 Swift, 1 Cricket, 1 Harmony, 1
Whetstone). All are right hand control; all but the Rough Stuff have
left hand ovaling.

Steve

Per (PeteCresswell):
Should I resign myself to changing back to feathered if I get a solid-shaft
paddle?

Oops, just read a reasonable-sounding argument for 90-degree feather in a surf
paddle.

The spiel is that when you're punching through a wave with one blade in the
water and driving, the other blade (the one that gets hit by the face of the
wave) meets the wave edge-first.
--
PeteCresswell

"(PeteCresswell)" wrote:
Per (PeteCresswell):
Should I resign myself to changing back to feathered if I get a solid-shaft
paddle?

Oops, just read a reasonable-sounding argument for 90-degree feather in a surf
paddle.

The spiel is that when you're punching through a wave with one blade in the
water and driving, the other blade (the one that gets hit by the face of the
wave) meets the wave edge-first.

Another spin on the same idea is that with 0 offset, both blades might hit
the wave at the same time. The result can be quite a jolt.
With some offset, this is hard to do.

If you do decide to try it, some of the manufacturers accept custom offset
orders, supposedly for no additional cost.

Per Jeremy:
Another spin on the same idea is that with 0 offset, both blades might hit
the wave at the same time. The result can be quite a jolt.
With some offset, this is hard to do.

Working on that.... It also would seem that with the offset, if one blade
accidentally hit the wave face - as in the paddle being held out horizontally -
the paddle would pivot around the paddler as the other blade sliced into the
wave rather than clothes lining the paddler.
--
PeteCresswell

"(PeteCresswell)" wrote:
Per Jeremy:
Another spin on the same idea is that with 0 offset, both blades might hit
the wave at the same time. The result can be quite a jolt.
With some offset, this is hard to do.

Working on that.... It also would seem that with the offset, if one blade
accidentally hit the wave face - as in the paddle being held out horizontally -
the paddle would pivot around the paddler as the other blade sliced into the
wave rather than clothes lining the paddler.

Exactly. Or breaking, if it were so inclined, although usually my nose is
the softer of the two.