Braca Paddles: Living With The Hose Clamp?

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

(PeteCresswell) wrote:
> 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.

It wouldn't be my first choice of clamping methods, but it should be
strong, slip-free and provide infinite adjustment. I would assume that
their premise is that racers never use the center of the shaft, as
touring paddlers sometimes do. Notice that their touring paddles have
the typical spring button setup.

> 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.

I would suggest that you remove the clamp and spend some time rounding
over the edges on a bench grinder or belt sander. It can be smoothed
quite a bit. Afterward, I would just stretch a piece of bicycle
innertube over the shaft and clamp. That would protect the joint from
water and your body from the clamp.

> 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!

You may be making a bad assumption here. The tighter the tolerances in
the joint, the less they will tolerate salt and/or mineral buildup
before they begin to bind. This rinsing requirement may simply be a
reflection of tight manufacturing tolerances, which would indicate a
solid, wobble-free joint. Other paddle manufacturers have very similar
instructions.

> 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.

Not likely, at least in the long term. Duct tape would provide very
little clamping force and would stretch and loosen in use. If you allow
the joint to twist or slide, it's going to wear and become loose,
ultimately ruining the paddle.

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

Again, ultimately ruining the paddle.

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

I think you're making too big of a deal out of this, but if you don't
like it, return it and buy something else. Once you start screwing with
it, you own it.