Clever Me Part 2

This paddle is nearing the end of its life, so I decided to try an experiment. I added a "drip notch". This is a small sharp-edged notch that the water flow can't follow. Instead it departs the edge of the paddle and falls well outside the boat. I hardly got a drop of water on me.

To make the notch, simply drill a 1/4" hole by the edge of the plastic blade, 6-7 inches from the base. Then file it to the shape you see here, with a sharp corner at the edge. The back-cut assures the the stream can't jump over the notch to the other side.

I can't claim this idea, I've seen a few paddles with this feature.


An Aquarium For the Naturalist

By Ronald M. Clayton
Illustrations by author

Maintaining an aquarium filled with local fish and other aquatics can be an enjoyable, learning experience, and give you a good excuse to get out and stomp around in your local pond or stream. It’s fun collecting new animals and plants to add to the aquarium, to replace ones that have died, or as food for your locally acquired fish, and learning about your wildlife is a fascinating part of the experience. In the shimmering shallows and mysterious depths of almost any nearby body of water thrives a whole world of living things, some very ugly and some very beautiful – the variety will amaze you. If you are interested in providing inexpensive recreation and education for yourself and perhaps your family, read on.