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liv2padl

unread,
Oct 28, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/28/98
to
well, i've just got my new Landal Carbon paddle. Very light -- very sharp
-- very high tech -- very BLACK and VERY INVISIBLE to other boaters. i'd
like to paint the blades orange or yellow .. anybody know how to
accomplish this with a paint that will adhere in salt water, fresh water
and beach landings in surf. thanks, dan
<°){{{{>< <°){{{{>< <°){{{{>< <°){{{{>< <°){{{{>< <°){{{{><

Ibistours

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Oct 28, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/28/98
to
I run a guide service on the Hudson River and felt the same about some
blue-bladed paddles made of poly. Everyone said paint would not stick and they
were sort-of right. I tried green and orange glo paint on different blades to
see which was more visable. Found the orange much better in daylight and the
green better at twilight. As luck would have it, I painted the right green and
the left orange, just like running lights. I found the colors showed up a
whole lot better if I primed the blades with white. Paint sticking? It wears
off from abbrasion after six or eight trips but is quick and easy to touch up.
I covered the throat of the paddle with reflector tape to cover any paint
blurbs.

As a last comment; my paddle cost 1/4 what yours did, wait for more comments!

Bardy Jones

WildConect

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Oct 29, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/29/98
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I have a Lendal carbon crank shaft paddle--had it just over a year now--and
love it! Good choice! I haven't tried painting, but just about everyone I
know has put reflective tape on the blades. I put yellow on one blade and
white on the other. Not sure how much this increases daylight visibilty, but
sure shows up at night when a light hits it. During the daylight, I find the
PFD color to be the most important. Enjoy your new paddle Dan!
John Browning
Wilderness Connection

SPB Kayak

unread,
Oct 29, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/29/98
to
>- very high tech -- very BLACK and VERY INVISIBLE to other boaters. i'd
>like to paint the blades orange or yellow .. anybody know how to
>accomplish this with a paint that will

Just lightly sand the areas you want to paint, and paint away. Spray paint is
the easiest. The edges will wear away a little,but touch up is easy.

I did this to a bunch of glass paddles I repaired for my summer instructional
program, and they held up pretty well. The kids loved the new bright colors
too.

Scott Barnes
N.E. Riot Rep

Wilko

unread,
Oct 29, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/29/98
to
My paddling buddy Steven has painted his grey paddle bright orange
with car-paint. He has added an extra layer of fixator (don't know
the correct English term here) which makes the paint stick a lot
better as well as protect it from the elements.

If you're interested in knowing what exactly he used to make it
stick, send me a private e-mail, and I'll ask him for you.

--
Wilko van den Bergh
quibus(at)worldonline(dot)nl AOL-users please use Wilko(at)dse(dot)nl
Sociology Student at the Tilburg University, The Netherlands,
Europe
Whitewater Kayaker AD&D Dungeon Master

----------------------------------------------------------------------
No man is wise enough, nor good enough
to be trusted with unlimited power.
Charles Colton
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Stephen Knight

unread,
Oct 29, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/29/98
to
liv2padl wrote:
>
> well, i've just got my new Landal Carbon paddle. Very light -- very sharp
> -- very high tech -- very BLACK and VERY INVISIBLE to other boaters. i'd

> like to paint the blades orange or yellow .. anybody know how to
> accomplish this with a paint that will adhere in salt water, fresh water
> and beach landings in surf. thanks, dan
> <°){{{{>< <°){{{{>< <°){{{{>< <°){{{{>< <°){{{{>< <°){{{{><
I'm just adding to the other comments, but with an additional
point. The color of the paddle is less visible as the motion of the
paddle; the eye is more sensitive to motion than it is color. Also at
the ranges you're talking about the paddle would be quite small and the
color would not have as much contrast. That's why the color of the boat,
PFD and paddle clothing is more important for visibilty. Larger "target"
area. BTW, I have a Lendal CF also and paddle on the sounds and ocean
side of North Carolina, so I can understand your concerns.
On a practical note, I'd be real careful about trying to paint
over a CF paddle. In order to get the paint to adhere effectively you'll
have to prep. the surface which runs the risk of damaging the CF. My
advice is to use the highly reflective tape (mil. spec. or industrial)
not only on the paddle blades but on the shaft as well, taking your time
to clean the surface extremely well (acetone) to get the best adherence.
And one more comment, I'd recommend putting some sort of edge or
rim protection on your paddle blades to minimize chipping and
delamination. I used a WW product (Salamander?) and it's been on for 3
years now. Pretty durable stuff.
Stephen Knight

liv2padl

unread,
Oct 29, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/29/98
to
yes, thanks i'm definitely interested. it's important for me to know
exactly what he did in addition to how he did it. also, my paddle is
carbon .. was his? thanks dan

>
> If you're interested in knowing what exactly he used to make it
> stick, send me a private e-mail, and I'll ask him for you.
>
> --

liv2padl

unread,
Oct 29, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/29/98
to
thanks for your input -- i've noted that when i see another paddler at a
distance, what i actually see is the paddle motion catching the light ..
not the boat or pfd or even the paddlers apparel color. i've been told by
several lobstermen that when they see me it's the paddle flashing -- the
boat and paddler are virtually invisible due to their proximity to the
water. in any event, i AM worried about painting the paddle .. if i screw
it up it's sooo permanent. i am leaning in the direction of reflective
tape though i doubt it would be as effective. what kind of tape do you
suggest? and the rim protection sounds like an excellent idea. where did
you see it or get yours? thanks again, dan

In article <363885...@med.unc.edu>, Stephen Knight <st...@med.unc.edu>
wrote:

> liv2padl wrote:
> >
> > well, i've just got my new Landal Carbon paddle. Very light -- very sharp
> > -- very high tech -- very BLACK and VERY INVISIBLE to other boaters. i'd
> > like to paint the blades orange or yellow .. anybody know how to
> > accomplish this with a paint that will adhere in salt water, fresh water
> > and beach landings in surf. thanks, dan

> > <°){{{{>< <°){{{{>< <°){{{{>< <°){{{{>< <°){{{{><
<°){{{{><

> I'm just adding to the other comments, but with an additional
> point. The color of the paddle is less visible as the motion of the
> paddle; the eye is more sensitive to motion than it is color. Also at
> the ranges you're talking about the paddle would be quite small and the
> color would not have as much contrast. That's why the color of the boat,
> PFD and paddle clothing is more important for visibilty. Larger "target"
> area. BTW, I have a Lendal CF also and paddle on the sounds and ocean
> side of North Carolina, so I can understand your concerns.
> On a practical note, I'd be real careful about trying to paint
> over a CF paddle. In order to get the paint to adhere effectively you'll
> have to prep. the surface which runs the risk of damaging the CF. My
> advice is to use the highly reflective tape (mil. spec. or industrial)
> not only on the paddle blades but on the shaft as well, taking your time
> to clean the surface extremely well (acetone) to get the best adherence.
> And one more comment, I'd recommend putting some sort of edge or
> rim protection on your paddle blades to minimize chipping and
> delamination. I used a WW product (Salamander?) and it's been on for 3
> years now. Pretty durable stuff.
> Stephen Knight

Kim Buttleman

unread,
Oct 29, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/29/98
to
liv2padl wrote:
>
> well, i've just got my new Landal Carbon paddle. Very light -- very sharp
> -- very high tech -- very BLACK and VERY INVISIBLE to other boaters. i'd
> like to paint the blades orange or yellow .. anybody know how to
> accomplish this with a paint that will adhere in salt water, fresh water
> and beach landings in surf. thanks, dan
> <°){{{{>< <°){{{{>< <°){{{{>< <°){{{{>< <°){{{{><
> <°){{{{><

A suggestion: On my last Grand Canyon trip one of the kayakers had
painted one of the blades of his paddle red on one side and green on the
other. It made signalling much easier to understand, especially over
long distances. I've since done the same to one of my canoe paddles,
and it comes in handy when signalling on relatively blind runs like the
Upper Yough, where a horizontally held paddle (signalling stop) would
never be seen by those upstream because it would be behind a boulder.

--
Kim Buttleman
U. S. Geological Survey, Reston, Va., USA

Aled

unread,
Oct 29, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/29/98
to
Been paddling carbon Lendals for a few years now, and at the start thought I
may need rim protection due to the thinness of the tips. Anyway, I didn't
bother, and I'm still using the same Carbon Powermaster 7 years on. I avoid
punting off the beach and bracing off the odd rock as much as possible.

There's a school of thought here in the UK that says black sea blades are
good! They show up best against a horizon, in daylight of course, as your
eye doesn't see colour as well as tonal difference at a distance. So the
contrast of a dark blade with a light skyline + added movement = high vis.
The local fishermen also use black flags on their lobster-pots because , I
quote "they see them better and quicker".

It would be a shame to hide all that nice carbon fibre too....

I agree with the reflective tape for night paddling, since nothing compares
when you shine a light on it.

Aled

bad...@hotmail.com

unread,
Oct 29, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/29/98
to

For a few years now I have been using a glass Werner paddle.
That is when I'm not using my beloved pothole or backlund.
But back to the story. My werner has one red blade and one
yellow blade. I went with the bright colored blades because
when I was breaking schlegels on a regular basis I liked thier
neon blades.

Its nice to have the bright blades because people who know me
can see me coming downstream from about a mile away. (and then
they can run!!)

Its also nice to have that brightly colored paddle when it on
occasion gets away from me. A couple of months ago on the green
I was out of my boat looking at power slide. As I walked back to
my boat I slipped on a rock and knocked my boat and my paddle into
the pool between the last part of gorilla and powerslide. The boat
was sucked upstream, but my paddle really wanted to run the next
drop. Damn thing took off without me.

The guys in the pool below powerslide were enjoying all of these
antics. But they liked the fact they could see the paddle coming
downstream from about a mile away. Well, actually about 50 feet,
but you get the idea. And they were nice enuf to rein it
back in for me.

The guys were all commenting if it had been a darker paddle, well
then they might not have been able to watch its run.

still swimming
br.

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