Re: [Paddlewise] Holding On

Wayne wrote;


(SNIP)

> The problem is, once you are out of the boat and in the water that boat
> is a very potentially lethal weapon.  The mass of the boat means that it
> catches a lot of water.  Also, the lengths of most kayaks mean that once
> you are out of the kayak, large sections of the boat (especially at the
> stern and the bow) are not in the water or on the waves at the same
> time.  It can nearly rip your fingers off as the wave catches it or the
> bow or stern rocket up or down.  Often I can relate it to what I think
> it must be like getting back onto a very uncooperative bucking bronco.
> I do not come out of my boat very often and if it does occur, it usually
> happens in over two meter surf after a day of playing around when I
> should have already gone home.  I have had some pretty serious bruising
> of my fingers come out of gripping those deck lines and that is holding
> onto the kayak amidships where there is less dramatic movement than at
> the stern or the bow!!
 (SNIP)

What Wayne is talking about here is worth considering. For instance, if
kayak "A" requires additional stability for re-entry (either with a paddle
float, sponsons or whatever) and the addition of the device makes the boat
safer by allowing re-entry then why wouldn't a boat that already has that
stability designed into it be much better?

I think we would all agree that the more time one spends in the water and
the more one has to do while immersed the greater our risk of being
separated from the boat. Therefor it is logical to argue that, not only
should a boat have sufficient stability for re-entry stability but, that
stability should not be dependent upon any device that must be installed
after capsize. 

 certainly for handicapped paddlers sponsons would be a poor solution to
the problem since the handicapped person would be forced to either paddle
all the time with the sponsons (in which case he might as well have a
properly designed boat) or he would be forced to manage installing them
after the fact when, as Wayne points out, success is not guaranteed.


Cheers
John Winters
Redwing Designs
Specialists in Human Powered Watercraft
http://home.ican.net/~735769/

t 
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