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From: David Seng <David_at_wainet.com>
subject: [Paddlewise] paddle tethers
Date: Tue, 24 Mar 1998 08:33:08 -0900
Rich K wrote"

>Nothing.  Hold onto the paddle if you think you're going to need it.
>(The *last* thing I want is any kind of rope or line attached to me.)

I agree if you're talking about whitewater paddling, but there have been
times when sea-kayaking that I have thought that it would be handy to
have a paddle leash tethered _to the kayak_ (not to me!).  It would make
rest stops handier and might even make it easier to keep things together
in the (hopefully unlikely) event of a capsize.  I've just been too lazy
to do anything about it, so I too am interested in paddle leash thoughts
from the rest of the list.

Dave


David Seng		/  david_at_wainet.com
Wostmann & Associates	/  phone - 907.586.6167
223 Seward St.		/  fax - 907.586.2996
Juneau, Alaska  99801

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From: Rich Kulawiec <rsk_at_gsp.org>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] paddle tethers
Date: Tue, 24 Mar 1998 15:11:28 -0500
On Tue, Mar 24, 1998 at 08:33:08AM -0900, David Seng wrote:
> >Nothing.  Hold onto the paddle if you think you're going to need it.
> >(The *last* thing I want is any kind of rope or line attached to me.)
> 
> I agree if you're talking about whitewater paddling, but there have been
> times when sea-kayaking that I have thought that it would be handy to
> have a paddle leash tethered _to the kayak_ (not to me!). 

Okay, I'm confused here.  It seems to me that as a whitewater paddler,
I stand a much better chance of having the paddle ripped out of my hands
than a sea kayaker -- in fact, I *have* had the paddle ripped out of
my hands, which is why I work on my hands roll fairly often. ;-)

Now being upside-down sans paddle in big whitewater is not at the top
of my list of Fun Things To Do (most of those involve Sigourney Weaver
and Chadd's Ford Cabernet Franc '95, but I digress) but it has occured
to me that maybe, just *maybe*, that I was better off surrendering
my paddle to Mr. Bubbly than hanging onto it and having one or both
shoulders architecturally rearranged by the river.  So my puzzlement
leads to this question: if you are in water conditions so severe
that your paddle is torn from your grasp, do you *really* *REALLY* want
to be leashed to that paddle?

And to this one: under those conditions, does it do you any good to 
have it leashed to the boat?

Maybe I'm missing something fundamental here (could be; I get hit in
the head fairly often and that's got to be having a cumulative effect)
but I have seen these leashes, held these leashes, admired the construction
of these leashes and can't figure out what the heck good they do.

---Rsk
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From: Ari Saarto <asaarto_at_lpt.fi>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] paddle tethers
Date: Thu, 26 Mar 1998 09:52:19 +0000
I think that to those who are not using traditional Greenland paddles 
a sudden gust of wind at sea would be a real problem.

[Thanks to Joq I am designing a Greenland paddle - a full rapport 
follows, sooner or later...]

I have seen some people having only a feet long string, which is tied 
loosely to their wrists.  Didnīt convince me very much.

Has anyone considered the danger of hitting [when 
collapsing] oneself  accidentally with a paddle if the tether or 
string is too short? - NO, NOT with a bungie :-)

[Besides legendary Dr. Inverbon, who surely could comment on that 
matter;-)]

Cheers,

Ari Saarto
"the horizon is not a limit..."

Finland - Europe
GSM +358 - 50 - 526 5892
fax. +358 - 3 - 828 2815
e-mail: asaarto_at_lpt.fi
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From: patrick.maun_at_duffy.com <patrick.maun_at_duffy.com>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] paddle tethers
Date: 24 Mar 98 15:01:20 +0000
Rich Kulawiec wrote:

>Maybe I'm missing something fundamental here (could be; I get hit in
>the head fairly often and that's got to be having a cumulative effect)
>but I have seen these leashes, held these leashes, admired the construction
>of these leashes and can't figure out what the heck good they do.

I occasionally use a paddle leash when I touring about because it is nice to drop the paddle in the water and take a picture,  raft up, get my sprayskirt on or whatever. Seems to me that they are also handy for assisted rescues -- giving and receiving. Of course I could just jam the paddle under my deckcords, but whenever I do that it seems I spend in inordinate amount of time making it stay, and it usually just falls out anyway. 
Here's a question: wouldn't it be kind of difficult to get tangled up in a leash while rolling? The leashes I've seen seem far short to do this. I might be completely wrong. Someone set me straight.

-Patrick

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From: Mark Zen <canoeist_at_netbox.com>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] paddle tethers
Date: Tue, 24 Mar 1998 14:01:20 -0700 (MST)
i'll preface this with, i'm a canoeist, OC2 mostly, and new[er] to the sea
kayak scene, and i am answering this as a sea kayaker, not whitewater.  mz

On Tue, 24 Mar 1998, Rich Kulawiec wrote:

>>
>>On Tue, Mar 24, 1998 at 08:33:08AM -0900, David Seng wrote:
>>> >Nothing.  Hold onto the paddle if you think you're going to need it.
>>> >(The *last* thing I want is any kind of rope or line attached to me.)
>>> 
>>> I agree if you're talking about whitewater paddling, but there have been
>>> times when sea-kayaking that I have thought that it would be handy to
>>> have a paddle leash tethered _to the kayak_ (not to me!). 
>>
>>Okay, I'm confused here.  It seems to me that as a whitewater paddler,
>>I stand a much better chance of having the paddle ripped out of my hands
>>than a sea kayaker -- in fact, I *have* had the paddle ripped out of
>>my hands, which is why I work on my hands roll fairly often. ;-)
>>
>>Now being upside-down sans paddle in big whitewater is not at the top
>>of my list of Fun Things To Do (most of those involve Sigourney Weaver
>>and Chadd's Ford Cabernet Franc '95, but I digress) but it has occured
>>to me that maybe, just *maybe*, that I was better off surrendering
>>my paddle to Mr. Bubbly than hanging onto it and having one or both
>>shoulders architecturally rearranged by the river.  So my puzzlement
>>leads to this question: if you are in water conditions so severe
>>that your paddle is torn from your grasp, do you *really* *REALLY* want
>>to be leashed to that paddle?

NO, i would only attach the paddle to the boat. i would expect that
conditions encountered on water would be such that a person is flipped
over, and _not_ that the paddle is wrenched from their hands, hence they
have their paddle already...

>>
>>And to this one: under those conditions, does it do you any good to 
>>have it leashed to the boat?

yes, if you seperate from your boat, you can hold onto either one, and
have the other nearby. ... hmmm, let's try again, if you flip over and wet
exit, as long as you hold onto one or the other, you have the second one
nearby... that's better ;-)

>>
>>Maybe I'm missing something fundamental here (could be; I get hit in
>>the head fairly often and that's got to be having a cumulative effect)
>>but I have seen these leashes, held these leashes, admired the construction
>>of these leashes and can't figure out what the heck good they do.
>>
>>---Rsk

when i bought my first sea kayak, i was given a leash. i hooked it to my
PFD and the paddle, "now i won't lose it" --- i was playing on a local
lake, and intentionally turned over, and bailed out. still had my paddle
;-) but the boat was blown away [luckily towards shore]. 

coming from a whitewater canoe background, i have a big sharp knife on my
PFD, so if i thought i was getting tangled, i'd cut something ;-) the
leash i use is about 3+ feet [1m] of bungie cord. if i'm whietwater
paddling in my sea kayak, i'd not use the leash [remember, in an OC1/2,
nothing should hang below the gunwales when the boat is inverted, i know
_you_ know this rich, but i want to stress it to others who might not
know]. when i'm SKing on a flat lake, i don't generally use the leash,
although it has come in handy, when i throw the paddle away, and grab the
camera!! when i'm out in "fun" conditions, i attach the leash.

did i help or obfuscate?

mark

#------canoeist[at]netbox[dot]com--------------------------------------
mark zen                      o,    o__              o_/|   o_.
po box 474                   </     [\/              [\_|   [\_\
ft. lupton, co 80621-0474 (`-/-------/----')      (`----|-------\-')
#~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_at_~~~~~~~_at_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_at_~~~~~~~~_at_~~~~~
http://www.diac.com/~zen/cpr   [Colorado Paddlers' Resource]  
http://www.diac.com/~zen/rmskc [Rocky Mtn Sea Kayak Club]  
http://www.diac.com/~zen/rmcc  [Rocky Mtn Canoe Club Trip Page] 
http://www.diac.com/~zen/mark  [personal]
--
Fortune:
The goal of science is to build better mousetraps.
The goal of nature is to build better mice.

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From: Rich Kulawiec <rsk_at_gsp.org>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] paddle tethers
Date: Tue, 24 Mar 1998 20:57:21 -0500
On Tue, Mar 24, 1998 at 02:01:20PM -0700, Mark Zen wrote:
> coming from a whitewater canoe background, i have a big sharp knife on my
> PFD, so if i thought i was getting tangled, i'd cut something ;-)

Me too.  Big honking sucker that *so far* has just been used on
various bits and pieces of lunch.  (knocks on wood)

> did i help or obfuscate?

Yes, you helped a lot.  The line of thinking is beginning to penetrate
my thick skull, even in its coffee-deprived state.  I promise not to
replace your leash with a bungee cord so that the next time you're
doing a really scenic surf and decide to augment it with a paddle
toss that... ;-)

---Rsk
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From: Bob Denton <bob_at_dnax.com>
subject: [Paddlewise] Seda Impulse for Sale
Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 08:39:52 -5
Seda Impulse: 18' Sea Kayak. Very fast yet stable boat Weighs 48lbs 
(Glass and some Kevlar)  and  is white with a red deck. Has grab 
lines installed. Tracks very well... Less then 1 year old and in 
excellent condition...need to make room for my new carbon Nordkapp.

Cost new: $1700

I can possibly ship the boat. I have packing facilities at work.

$1100
Bob Denton
Vice President 
Undersea Breathing Systems
bob_at_dnax.com
http://www.dnax.com
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From: A.H.J.van den Hurk <vdh_at_xtra.co.nz>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] paddle tethers
Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 20:50:19 +1200
David Seng wrote:
> 
> Rich K wrote"
> 
> >Nothing.  Hold onto the paddle if you think you're going to need it.
> >(The *last* thing I want is any kind of rope or line attached to me.)
> 
> I agree if you're talking about whitewater paddling, but there have been
> times when sea-kayaking that I have thought that it would be handy to
> have a paddle leash tethered _to the kayak_ (not to me!).  It would make
> rest stops handier and might even make it easier to keep things together
> in the (hopefully unlikely) event of a capsize.  I've just been too lazy
> to do anything about it, so I too am interested in paddle leash thoughts
> from the rest of the list.
> 
> Dave
> 
> David Seng              /  david_at_wainet.com
> Wostmann & Associates   /  phone - 907.586.6167
> 223 Seward St.          /  fax - 907.586.2996
> Juneau, Alaska  99801
> 
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> ***************************************************************************
Hi,
I have paddled for years with a "bungy cord" of about one meter long and
find it very useful when both hands are needed for a drinkbottle or
fitting a spray deck etc.However I have a rule  that the paddle is to be
unhooked when coming ashore in surf.I have a small saddle fitted in
front of the cockpit.The eleastic is fitted with a nylon(plastic)hook on
one side which hooks unto the saddle .The otherside has a couple of
strips of velcro which,wrapped around the paddle will hold sufficient in
normal cases when the paddle is overboard,but will braek loose if I get
tangeled up during a capsize,whenever that will be.
Eddie

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