: Sounds like a good plan to me, best to fix it now as it'll bug you
: forever even if it doesn't effect the performance. You could
: just remove the inner stems then replace them and straighten out
: the ends while you're at it, should be a fairly easy fix.

: Bill H.

Hesitate to comment on this because I don't want to give away any secrets, but... You will likely have to cut out your internal stem. That's not an issue at all, because you will be able to put in an external stem that will be just as strong. Use a thin-kerf Japanese-type saw and cut along the inside of the strips to free it. Not a big deal.

The stems are likely not simply warped- I'd guess that your end form has moved out of alignment, so in effect- all of the strips on one side are longer than the other. It's not an issue of simply slitting it and sticking it back together. You will have to do several kerfs on the longer side to take out enough material so that it is the same length as the shorter side. Otherwise, it probably won't make any difference when you put it back together, and will want to slip back to its former alignment.

On the good side- it's pretty seriously unlikely to effect performance, unless it's YOUR performance because you won't be happy when you're paddling because all you can think about is that crooked stem.

m