Braca shafts – more about the 21k vs other shafts
Couple of comments on Braca shafts.
– Yes, I have them all in stock, available via the web site. I also stock 1 piece, but do not list them online, need to contact me directly.
-21k is 28mm diameter, which is smaller than the 19k and other shafts, so Braca includes .5mm circular shims to glue onto the shaft before assembling into the blade. Required to get the proper alignment as some folks have noted. Attached is a picture of the shims. Once the shaft is cut to length, just glue these on with crazy or gorilla glue, let set, then assemble the paddle as usual with Braca hot glue. FastPaddler assembles all paddles unless requested not to.
– Braca has had flexible hybrid shafts for a while, 05K and 09K, blend of fiberglass and carbon. Before the 19K and latest 21K these were the most flexible shafts they offered, with the 17K being the softest all carbon shaft. Feedback from the Surfski community spearheaded by Oscar was there was a need a softer all carbon shaft that was light and has a very fast recovery unlike the hybrid kevlar/fiberlgass shafts. Braca came out with the 19K which was the softest all carbon shaft available with only a couple of the hybrid shafts overall softer. Year and half ago, Oscar visited the Braca factory for a week and half and worked with them on developing an even softer all carbon shaft, the 21K. Braca manufactures their own carbon fiber that they actually sell to many industries outside of kayaking, and also manufactures all their own shafts. Here is a link to some videos Oscar took at the factory. fastpaddler.com/oscar-chalupsky-videos-of-braca-sport-factory/
So to make the 21K super flexible, while keeping it 100% carbon to maintain the quick recovery, Braca had to make the diameter smaller, 28mm. This allowed them to get the flex they wanted, super fast recovery and still meet their durability spec. Really cool shaft if you have not tried. I personally love it in the ocean.
Braca also has a spec to measure flexibility of all the shafts, I actually have the set up as well to compare different shafts at times. Pretty simple. 10kg weight, piece of extruded aluminum and a digital dial indicator. Pic attached.
Also, note that Braca does not use a ferule on their 2 piece shafts. The male end of the shaft is 1 piece. They are very meticulous in trying to make the flex of 2 piece shaft as continuous as possible, and a ferule epoxied into the shaft makes this near impossible. If you are ever at an large European event and Braca is there, swing by the tent and ask to talk to one of the owners: Andrash or Arunas. 2 very proud gentlemen who love to talk about paddles and specifically the effort they put into the shafts.
