# Anyone make their own push pole? (Split Topic)



## tom_in_orl (Dec 9, 2006)

Yep, most of the home made ones are made from a wooden dowel. You can get 15' wooden dowels used for closet rods from Home Depot or Lowes for under $30.


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## Guest (Jan 16, 2008)

I wouldn't spend the time to wrap it in glass. Spray with polyurethane.


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## chandler27 (Jul 24, 2007)

> I wouldn't spend the time to wrap it in glass.  Spray with polyurethane.


Spray the PVC with poly?

If I had some extra $$$ i would get one of those Stiffy kayak poles from you Ron  My dad is thinking about one for his Triton and may be calling you.


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## Guest (Jan 16, 2008)

Sorry, I was talking "closet rod". Forget the PVC. Get a wooden dowel. Stiffer and stronger IMHO


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## Jacbo (Jun 23, 2007)

I have looked at closet rods in Home Depot many times but have never found one quite straight enough for my likings. Am I just too picky or do you guys have a better source? :-/


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## chandler27 (Jul 24, 2007)

> I have looked at closet rods in Home Depot many times but have never found one quite straight enough for my likings. Am I just too picky or do you guys have a better source? :-/


I was reading about the pool cleaning rods just now. They make ones aleady painted white and you could seal off the ends. 

I guess im just going to take a trip to Home Depot tommorrow to look around. Im guessing I want to get something around the legnth of my boat, right? Also, where is the best place to get some good push pole holders? Should I wait to get the holders until I know the diameter of the pole I get?


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## Guest (Jan 16, 2008)

These work fine. ABS PPH Black I ask for them "undrilled"

http://www.polecatpushpoles.com/products.htm

Typical Push Pole is 1-1/2 Diameter. Holders are made to fit 1-1/2.


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## FlatsSteeler (Dec 10, 2006)

I searched and found a 18' Bamboo Pole put 2 coats of Poly and I have the perfect $5.00(cost of the poly) pushpole.......I purchased the pushploe clips from Custom Gheenoe I am set........Old School


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## tom_in_orl (Dec 9, 2006)

Very Cool! Let us know how it works out.


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## gregT (Apr 25, 2007)

I have an industrial rod extension (used by painters for extremely tall ceilings)

It's 7 ft but expandable to 14 ft. That was important since I put my boat in the back of my truck so I didnt need something sticking out 10 feet out of the bed of my truck.

The end has a male adapter for putting brush heads on etc. I rigged a brush head (got rid of the brush fibers) and made a foot for the pole out of that. Best $14 I've ever spent.


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## flaco (Feb 14, 2007)

Better hurry !!!

http://tampa.craigslist.org/boa/541333064.html


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## Gator87 (Apr 5, 2007)

> > I have looked at closet rods in Home Depot many times but have never found one quite straight enough for my likings. Am I just too picky or do you guys have a better source? :-/
> 
> 
> I was reading about the pool cleaning rods just now. They make ones aleady painted white and you could seal off the ends.
> ...


The 16' adjustable aluminum pool cleaning pole from Home Depot is an option. It is very light. Tom saw it at the 2007 Gheenoe Rally and thought it might be a little flimsy. It might not be as solid as a wooden closet rod, but it is lighter and adjustable. I have used mine about 15 times and it has held up well. It flexes some and sits in the pole holders really well. I do open the middle and flush it with fresh water after each use. I purchased a point, a foot, and pole holders at T. A. Mahoney's in Tampa. Shaved them down a bit and epoxied them on. I also epoxied the screw holes so it would not leak. Just one of many possible ideas. 



















Light enough for my 8 year old to handle it easily









Scott


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## Shallowfly (Dec 16, 2006)

I bought a Home Depot Closet rod, I believe its 12 foot, four years ago for my Gheenoe Classic, bought a spray can of black paint and painted it black and have used it ever since. It works great on a Classic, light weight, and stiff enough. 

I also use an adjustable pole purchased from Lowes to paint ceilings as mentioned earlier. It is a beige rod maybe fiberglass I am not sure, and has a thumb clip so you can adjust it quickly to various lengths. This is used on a canoe (16ft) and works great because of the smaller size when adjusted down. It is also a few years old and the spring clip still works.


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## Gator_Bob (Jun 26, 2007)

I have used PVC for poles years ago. The trick in getting the PVC to be stiff is to use two pipes (one inside the other). I would use a 1 1/2" for the outside and 1 1/4" for the inside. Depending on the SDR dim of the pipe I would cut the inside pipe length wise and use a slow set epoxy to glue the two pipes together. This will increase the stiffness of the pole greater than the ones you can buy. The stiffness comes from the shear value of the epoxy. To get a tight fit I drilled small holes in the pipes and filled the inside pipe with expanding foam (this helps it float). Be sure to paint the PVC as it is sensitive to UV rays.


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## TomFL (Oct 2, 2007)

Hands down the best pushpole I've ever seen is owned by my buddy who works for a certain power company here in Florida. Yes, the one we all pay when we turn our lights on every month. 

Anyways, they use some kind of titanium alloy poles in their plants, about 1.25" in diameter. It's holloe and very thin walled, and it's so light you wouldn't think it would be strong at all. BY FAR lighter than any pushpole I've ever picked up. His is about 12' long. I guess with the titanium content it's so light and strong it's scary. Plus it flexes just a bit.

I've pushed my 15'4" gheenoe across a mud flat with 410lbs of people, and probably another 100lbs of duck decoys without any problem at all with this pole. I'm anxiously awaiting him to "procure" another length of this pole from the scrap bin. Evidently they use it in length of almost 40' and cut it to size, leaving the extra as scrap. He made a mud foot on one end by using 1/2 a large clamp from what looks like a dive tank or something, and the other end is a standard point. 

This is without a doubt the best microskiff pushpole that I've seen. If you have a buddy who works for that unnamed power company, ask about this stuff.

-T


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## Un-shore (Sep 27, 2007)

Try this http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jsp?_DARGS=/cabelas/en/common/catalog/item-link.jsp_A&_DAV=netcon&id=0053152019791a&navCount=1&podId=0053152&parentId=cat601994&masterpathid=&navAction=push&catalogCode=IJ&rid=&parentType=index&indexId=cat601994&hasJS=true


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