> i have made a kayak paddle from ash,cherry,butternut,walnut. the shaft is
> laminated and i am wondering whether i should fiberglass the shaft? OR
> just coat with epoxy?, OR simply coat with varnish?.

> P.S. i have already glassed the blades. Surprisingly i enjoyed the paddle
> making process more than the S&G kayak process, probably because i was
> creating the contours to my liking.

> appreciate any tried and true advice, Craig.

Craig, I 'am just finishing a paddle myself and the question of glassing the shaft, epoxy only or just varnish puzzled me too. I was trying to make the lightest paddle I could, so my shaft is laminated cedar, spruce and graphite. The blades are strips of cedar,spruce, and mahogony covered with 4 oz. glass. All my gluing was done with epoxy. I could not see any reason to apply glass or epoxy to a shaft that was very stiff and light weight. The use of epoxy for laminating should solve the delamination problem if water gets to the wood. I opted for varnish only. If you used wood glue to laminate the shaft, you may want the epoxy. The glass is probably not needed. BTW/ I'am very pleased with my (wifes) paddle that weighs 24 oz.

Larry C.