> > Just a quick thought, I haven't tried this yet. > > How about partially inflating your inflatable paddle float before you leave the > shore. If its fully inflated I can't slip it over the paddle blade. However if it's > within 4-5 breaths of full I think I can. Yes, I used to do that before I discovered the solid paddlefloats. The problem I found is that inflatable paddlefloats leak, and leak even more with time. The other problem is that it was quite difficult to pull the float out of the rear bungies because the air would accumulate on one side making it difficult for the bungies to slide over it. I did many tests on inflatable paddlefloats, and gave them lots of second opportunities. My conclusion was that as safety device they are worthless. They can be used as an _aid_ for things like putting two paddlefloats on a victim's paddle (one per blade) to prevent capsizing again while the victim is towed. But as a dependable safety device as any inflatable gadget, they belong to the pile of junk. Maybe we could start a thread on the difference between a safety device and a rescue aid. A safety device is something you can depend on to get out of trouble, a rescue aid is something you use to make rescues more comfortable or easier, once the main threat has been mitigated. - Julio > > Jim > *************************************************************************** > PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List > Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net > Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net > Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ > *************************************************************************** > > *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************Received on Wed May 06 1998 - 10:56:17 PDT
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