Assemble your kayak power meter

To assemble the power meter you simply need to attach blades to each shaft section. This guide describes the process of fixing the blades into the correct position with hot-melt glue included in with your power meter.

It is very important that the blades are 'aligned' with the zero angle of each shaft section.

Step 1. Identify the shaft sections

The left shaft section has the length scale and it is the shortest of the two shaft sections.
The right shaft section has the connection clamp and it is the longest of the two shaft sections.

Step 2. Slide the blades onto the shaft (without applying glue)

Check that the blades fit the shaft. Left blade onto the left shaft, and right blade onto the right shaft.
If the blades fit too tightly, try sanding the end of the shafts with 80 grit sandpaper to reduce the outside diameter slightly.

Leave the blades in fitted to the end of the shaft (not yet glued) and carry out the following steps

Step 3. Apply tape to the shaft and blade

Apply tape to the throat of the blade.
Apply tape to the shaft where the shaft meets the blade.

Power meters purchased directly from One Giant Leap will have masking tape already applied to the shaft at the correct position (i.e. 295mm from the datum).

Perform this step for both left and right shafts.

Step 4. Align the left blade with the zero angle

Rotate the left blade on the end of the left shaft to the position where the face of the left blade is aligned with the zero angle (as shown below).

Step 5. Mark the alignment of the left blade on the tape

Mark this alignment of the left blade using a pen on the tape applied in Step 3.

Step 6. Glue the left blade in place using the hot melt glue

Remove the blade from the end of the shaft
Sand the end of the shaft with 80 grit sand paper to roughen the surface, allowing for a good surface for adhesion
Heat the glue stick with a heat gun until the stick becomes soft

Dab the softened glue stick onto the end of the paddle shaft, dabbing glue at several locations

Using a stick/trowel, spread the glue over end of the shaft. You will have to apply heat to the deposited glue to allow it to be worked smooth.

Prepare to glue the blade onto the shaft by reheating the applied glue as well as pre-heating the blade socket. Take care not to overheat the shaft or the blade during this stage.

With the glue hot and the blade heated, assemble the blade onto the end of the shaft. Push the shaft all the way into the blade socket and then rotate the blade into the position where the alignment marks made during step 6. are aligned.

Remove any excess glue while it is still hot and easy to wipe away.

Allow the blade and shaft to cool down before applying any force to either. Once cool, make sure that the alignment marks remain aligned. If adjustment is required, heat up the join with a heat gun to re-activate the glue then twist the blade to align the marks.

Step 7. Assemble the shaft and set the blade offset angle to zero

Assemble the paddle shaft by joining the left and right shafts together
Set the blade offset angle to zero

Step 8. Rotate the right blade so that it is aligned with the left blade.

Rotate the right blade so that it's alignment matches the left. At this stage, the right blade should be fitted to the end of the right shaft, but not yet glued in place.
- Alignment can be achieved by supporting both blades on a two level surfaces (see picture below). Be sure to support the each blade an equal distance from the blade tip.

Step 9. Mark the alignment of the right blade on the tape

Mark this alignment of the right blade using a pen on the tape applied in Step 3.

Step 10. Glue the right blade in place using the hot melt glue

Same as before in Step 7....
Heat the glue stick with a heat gun until the stick becomes soft
Dab the softened glue stick onto the end of the paddle shaft, dabbing glue at several locations
Using a stick/trowel, spread the glue over end of the shaft. You will have to apply heat to the deposited glue to allow it to be worked smooth.
Prepare to glue the blade onto the shaft by reheating the applied glue as well as pre-heating the blade socket. Take care not to overheat the shaft or the blade during this stage.
With the glue hot and the blade heated, assemble the blade onto the end of the shaft. Push the shaft all the way into the blade socket and then rotate the blade into the position where the alignment marks match up.
Remove any excess glue while it is still hot and easy to wipe away.
Let everything cool down.

Step 11. Remove the masking tape

With both blades glued into place, remove the masking tape. If there is any excess glue around the joint, then a bit of heat and a rag with turpentine will clean everything up nicely.

Step 12. Waterproof the blade join

Corrosion is a natural enemy of any electronic product. Although fully-waterproofred, we want to limit the exposure of the internal surface of the load cell to salt water where at all possible. As One Giant Leap has no control over the quality of the hot melt glued bond that joins the blade to the shaft (as this task is performed by the end user), we recommended all customers to seal this joint with a combination of amalgamating tape and heat-shrink. Both the amalgamating tape and heat-shrink have been supplied with your Power Meter.

Peel the white backing from the amalgamating tape. Wrap the tape around the blade join, stretching it out as you do so. Stretching the tape allows the tape to amalgamate while compressing over the blade join.