paddle storage location

imported_daver

New Member
Greetings--

I'm a new Sunfish skipper, having borrowed a 2000 model from a friend for while (I also sail a Buccaneer 18).

Where do you recommend that I store my 30-inch wooden paddle onboard the Sunfish? I kept it in the cockpit, but stepped on it accidentally and broke it. Any other suggestions--perhaps the deck area aft of the V-shaped splashguard?

Daver
 
We use lawn paddle ball paddles. they look like a large ping pong paddle and work great. they fit in the aft well and do not get under your feet. I have seen other people use ping pong paddles and dust pans. Heavy duty dust pans work very well and are cheap.
 
I have seen paddles velcro strapped to the mast. I had a telescoping paddle with a handle hole in the blade. This let me put on a short line and snap clip it to the bow handle with the paddle handle tucked between mast and halyard. They make swim fins for hands that store in the cubby hole. There are mini telescoping paddles too.
 
I use a "Praddel" to win the race back to the keg once the wind drops down to zero. I bought it a few years ago at West Marine for ~$20. I use hook & loop tape to stick the (plastic) Praddel to a vertical sidewall of the cockpit.
 
here's an idea: i took a regular paddle and sawed it in half. then i attached some pvc parts from home depot to each end so that they screw together. it works quite well if i do say so myself! and fits perfectly in the cockpit storage.
paddle.jpg
 
and speaking of sawing, i also modified my old daggerboard after an unfortunate encounter with a rock while lake sailing in Maine. Now I have a short board perfect for shallow Barnegat Bay NJ conditions as well as my more legal new board for racing. I really like the older style much better... :(

daggerboards.jpg
 
I've got some hollow, plastic oars that were left over from a inflatable dinghy that wouldn't stay inflated.

They're currently stored inside the hull through a six-inch port. (A good reason to "go big" on the port). I may join the two with PVC pipe to make a long, kayak-style paddle. Both oars are light, float, and unscrew into two parts for compactness.

This is a very timely thread for me: I may make some cuts in an unused, but now-expensive, telescoping paddle to fit it through the port. Just yesterday, I traced the paddle onto cardboard for a template to see if it's a feasible venture. :)
 
I found that I would have to trim the paddle (the paddle with the aluminum telescoping shaft) into an unsightly "S" shape so that it would fit through a six-inch port. (So forget that idea).

Here's the paddle from the inflatable that does easily fit through the port.
SunfishPaddle.jpg


The blue shaft slides onto the yellow paddle for strength, and a threaded collar locks the two together for use. They float when assembled, but only the yellow paddle section floats when apart.

I've since bought a few more $1 paddles like the one above, anticipating another Sunfish purchase and, just last weekend, bought a nice '77 AMF !
 
Thanks porpoise 2 for the great Idea of storing the paddle, through the 6" port hole and the other skipper who suggested sawing the canoe paddle. I prefer a canoe paddle myself as, have to paddle along ways somtimes in strong winds!
 
I never had good luck using the daggerboard as a paddle. Takes two hands and you can't use the tiller/rudder. The praddle always worked well for me. Fits your hand and has a fairly large area. Of course I lost mine in a capsize so you need to tie it down somewhere. Fits in the well too. Ping pong paddle works but it has a small area and not very efficient.
 
We've had a spate of windless days locally: to get home, I started carrying a regular canoe paddle, which is a much more efficient design than the one I have stored inside the hull. (Photo above).

When there is wind, just slide the blade between halyard and mast. Secure the handle-end to the daggerboard with a string having a small clip on the end. (Or even a wooden clothes-pin, for those who have returned to a solar clothes-dryer!) ;)

Moved far enough forward, it has another advantage of disrupting the amount of wake that cruisers can throw over the bow.
 
When I go sailing for fun out of the tidal creek where my sunfish lives, I take a two piece kayak paddle (double bladed paddle). Sure it gets in the way laying there in the cockpit, but it is a lot easier to move the boat under my own power than with a single bladed paddle, or a daggerboard, or a dustpan, etc.
 

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