Wayne Langmaid introduced this topic back on Feb 4. I still have a few questions. I agree with Julio that the information on the web page about sea chutes was a bit confusing and seemed to apply more to sail boats. The section in John Dowd's book on sea chutes does not go into much detail, either. I have a feeling that a sea chute would be a good addition to my safety arsenal (after reading Deep Trouble I'm interested in just about every safety device and skill known), but I'm not sure. I have been out on the ocean in scary high seas. Fortunately there was a sheltered beach to land on. But I know that's not always the case. What if you're really tired and the wind and waves are forcing you into a cliff? Could you paddle directly into the waves say a half mile off shore, set your sea chute and then using your rudder, or maybe your paddle as a rudder, steer your kayak down the coast while you attempt to scout out a suitable beach to land on? We were taking 10 foot seas with gnarly white caps off the rear quarter. It was a lot of work but we weren't overly tired. If we had needed to I know we could have rested by pointing our bows into the waves, but then we would have been heading away from shore. My vision of the sea chute would be that you would get out of the immediate danger of the rocks near shore, set your chute, and drift slowly in a controlled manner. Your bow would still be pointed out to see, but you would be stable, and you could look over your shoulder for a landing site, possibly using the Steph Dutton technique of keeping the chute deployed through the surf zone. Is this what sea chutes can be used for? Has anybody used one for similar purposes? Thanks, Keith Kaste *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net ***************************************************************************
G'day - Keith points out another situation in which I am interested in having a sea chute available, along side of having it for extended open water expedition style paddling. Not so much for having to use it on a regular basis, but for those instances that it would be a good "ace up the sleeve" so to speak. I quite enjoy paddling in the conditions Keith refers to (when we get them) but would like to have yet another "fall back or back up" to the skills, preparation and equipment that I normally paddle with. I am really happy with the response so far - this list is showing good form. Thank you everyone. I really would appreciate some more detail regarding drogues/sea chute use along the lines that Ralph Diaz and others supplied. An example of details required: 1. Just how long does the line between the kayak and the chute need to be and what are the exceptions or rules? 2. How long should the lines between the chute and the swivel be? 3. Just what size of sea chute is sufficient - is there a size that is too large? 4. Just how strong would the attachment point need to be on the kayak - is there a lot of heavy loading on that point? 5. Would shock cord be effective to negate some of the effects of that loading or yanking? I'm trying to reduce the learning curve on this thing here. I do understand that once I have one that there will most definitely be the need to sort out m own procedure for it - but I want to avoid having to reinvent any part of the wheel again. Regards Wayne Langmaid Australia Keith Kaste wrote: > Wayne Langmaid introduced this topic back on Feb 4. I still have a > few > questions. I agree with Julio that the information on the web page > about sea chutes was a bit confusing and seemed to apply more to sail > boats. > "SNIP" > Your bow would still be pointed out to see, but you > would be stable, and you could look over your shoulder for a landing > site, possibly using the Steph Dutton technique of keeping the chute > deployed through the surf zone. > > Is this what sea chutes can be used for? Has anybody used one for > similar purposes? > > Thanks, > > Keith Kaste > > *********** > *************************************************************** > PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List > Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net > Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net > ******************************************************* > ******************* *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net ***************************************************************************
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