> Jim Croft wrote: > >> ... Whereas they probably have no place in sudden storm > >> conditions, sponsons are probably worth having for towing an > >> incapacitated boat and/or paddler. > > > >There have been a couple of instances on our club trips when such > >devices would have been handy. When a normally adequate paddler became > >seasick in big seas to the extent of being unable to stay upright, one > >person had to tow the victim, while another had to hold him and his boat > >upright while being colourfully spewed upon, so the tower had two dead > >weights to deal with... > Greg Stamer wrote: > Just an idea.... > > A clever technique that I have only experimented with during safety clinics > is to fit *each* end of the victims paddle with an inflated paddlefloat. > This gives a tremendous amount of support for even very weak attempts at > bracing. A successful use of this method was published in a SK magazine > accident report four or more years ago. Depending on the circumstances, an > incapacitated paddler may very well be able to stay upright with this > method during a tow without having to raft up with another kayak. Thanks Greg. I think the Sea Kayaker article was more than five years ago (a title something like "Superior Trouble", it was not one of my articles). I'll add a couple further comments: Depending how out-of-it the victim is, he or she can either hold the paddle across their lap - ready to lean on it for support or the paddle can be slid through the rear deck lines as it would be for a paddle float self-rescue, except that the paddle would in this case be centered. Secondly: As for towing with more than one kayak doing the work, I've had better results with towing single file rather than in a wishbone manner (which tended to jerk everyone involved more). To do this I've clipped each tower's rope together end to end, and attached each tower's towing harness (sling, rope attached to towing belt in PFD, etc.) at their respective junction in the rope chain. I can't say that this is always the best way, but in my limited experiments with trying both methods of using multiple towers the single file system seemed the better solution. I've actually only done this with two towers, but as long as everyone had a tow rope, the concept could be repeated to include more towers...another reason every kayak should carry a tow rope. In case anyone is wondering, it definitely makes towing faster and easier to have more than one person pulling. As a historical aside, I've seen old photos of Eskimos working together this way (at least six kayaks in a row) to tow a whale. Further, as with other skills, towing (and freeing oneself from the tow) should be practiced before it is needed. George Gronseth (Co-author of "Sea Kayaker Deep Trouble") Kayak Academy 2512 NE 95th St. Seattle, WA 98115 www.halcyon.com/kayak/ kayak_at_halcyon.com *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net ***************************************************************************Received on Thu Jan 29 1998 - 22:41:19 PST
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