Importance

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Abstract

A kayak paddle having at least one paddle blade is made by laying a first resin impregnated fiber preforms in a lower half of a split mold. The split mold has a bifurcated channel for producing a bifurcated rib in a back face of the paddle blade. One end of a paddle shaft is inserted into a cylindrical recess in the lower mold half, and a bifurcated foam core in inserted in the lower mold half over the bifurcated channel. A second resin-impregnated fiber preform is laid over the first fiber preform, and an upper half of the split mold is closed over the lower mold half from one end in clam-shell fashion. Heat and pressure are applied to press the molds together to create thereby a fluid wall of liquid resin which advances through the fiber preforms as the mold closes, driving air out of the fabric preforms as the resin advances through the fiber preforms, and curing the resin to produce a solid fiber-reinforced resin matrix paddle blade bonded to the paddle shaft.

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First Claim