The Kinetic Wing did a good job during the circumnavigation of Flevoland giving me more power than the Greenland paddle with the same forward stroke technique. It has become my main paddle but there are some minor issues that I wanted to be solved: increasing the shaft diameter and removal of the oval shaped grip for the right hand. Both lead to a bit cramped position of the fingers. The shaft diameter is only 29 mm, except for both ends having 30 mm.
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| the right hand oval grip |
I ordered a thin walled carbon tube with inner size 29 and outer size 30 mm. So it could be sleeved around the thinner part of the shaft. It's length is 1000 mm and that will increase the paddle length a few centimeters up to 227,5 cm. Quite nice. Due to it's thin wall it will not increase the weight of the paddle too much. The tube is already lacquered for UV-protection and has a smooth surface.
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| the new carbon tube in between both halves |
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| it is a thin walled tube |
First, both hand grips needs to be removed. They were quite easily stripped off after a small incision. The plastic insert that makes the oval grip is also easily taken off.
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| stripping the old sleeves |
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| the stripped off parts |
The new tube in place over the shaft until it reaches the thicker ends:
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| all 30 mm now |
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| very nice |
No glue has been applied yet. The seems are sealed with tape to prevent for incoming water and rotating of the blades. In this way it is possible to disassemble it.
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| finishing tape |
Update: the sealing with tape did not prevent the blades rotating a bit. I have glued all parts now with epoxy.
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