Re: [Paddlewise] Holding On

This problem of having to handle a wild or difficult to restrain Kayak in such
waters,
described by Wayne, leave me somewhat chilled out by the idea of going through
an additional fight to intall straps and proper positoning of a set of
sponsons.
Moreover having to inflate them would be challenging to my breath. Accepting
the
cold plus having to blow something up while dealing with a bucking kayak would
be a
bit much. I perceive that manually inflated sponsons would be suitable only for
smooth
or calm waters and what is needed is a CO-2  cartridge inflatable system, not a
manuel
inflatable one, for situations where there is a severe wave chop.
Such a design would likewise get rid of the setup inconvenience of fastening
straps
and their associated drag.
Why can't sponsons  be merely attatched on the sides or edge of the gunwales
in reserve for emergencies. Would you not think that this would be better?
Would
this not make sponsons  more desirable and functional since it would be easier
to initiate their deployment much the same as a scuba divers life vest?
I don't know. If one is in the business of manufacturing sponsons perhaps a
little more
Research and Development could be brought to bear on the design. The way they
are presently designed by Ingram suggests they are certainly not the panacea he

makes them out to be. I would think there exists enough talent among this list
of subscribers to solve the problem. Gee, you might even be able to put Ingram
out
of business with a superior design. The ultimate question to be answered,
however,
remains: is there really a need for them?


Regards,

Philip

  ------------------------------------------------------------------------

John Winters wrote:

> 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.
>



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