[Paddlewise] FW: Rescues (was: what happ

>>
From: CHUCK_at_multitech.com (Chuck Holst)

> Linda and I practiced resuing each other by carrying each other on each       
> others' kayaks. Much to my surprise, I found that my kayak was more
> stable with Linda sitting up behind me with her legs in hte water than       
> when she was lying on my rear deck. However, she is smaller than me;   when
> she carried me, her kayak felt more unstable with me in either   position.
> In fact, we capsized once when I was lying on the deck. The most stable       
> position is with the rescuee hugging the bow, but of course the rescuee       
> is also immersed in that position.

Which direction were you facing when hugging the bow and were your feet
in the water then?  It would seem to me that having feet in the water
would help to stabilize by counterbalancing the weight above water, but
whaddoIknow... I'm not an engineer :-)

Maybe she should just get a tow rope, a harness and sponsons for you. :-)

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I was facing upward with my arms wrapped around the bow and my feet on
the foredeck. I understand that this is a preferred rescue technique in   the
BCU, and that it is often used to keep the rescuee safe and out of the   way
during TX rescues while the rescuer is emptying out the capsized kayak.
**************************************************************************  *************

> A friend was having trouble with his hip snaps and rolls, so he tried a       
> Romany and I tried his Sea Lion. He rolled up in the Romany on his   first
>  attempt, and exclaimed "Wow!" -- or words to that effect. It's the   usual
> reaction of someone rolling a Romany for the first time. My impression   of
> the Sea Lion -- I owned one years ago, but didn't have a roll then --   was
> that it handled quite well when upright and turned very easily when
> leaned, but was harder to roll or to keep on edge than the Romany. Once       
> the gunwale submerges, the kayak wants very strongly to keep on going,   so
> keeping it on edge while sculling takes much effort than with the   Romany.
> Also, it didn't help that the unpadded thigh braces were so far from my       
> thighs as to be no help.

Does the Romany have chines?  I can't remember the design.

Cheers,

Jackie

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The Romany has a shallow V bottom, slab (flat, vertical) sides in the   center
section, and soft chines. Also, since the afterdeck is almost flat, the
gunwale is higher than on a Sea Lion. The Romany also has a keyhole
cockpit which, with the addition of 3/8-inch closed cell padding, gives   me
good thigh contact. People with large thighs feel pinched in the Romany,
however, if they can fit in at all.

Chuck Holst


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