Re: [Paddlewise] .Re: bailer in a seakayak?

Jack wrote;


>Would this self-bailer arrangement work with a boat-full of water?

I suppose it would depend upon the bailer and the paddler and the boat.
Some bailers work better at low speeds than others, some paddlers are
stronger than others and some boats hold much less water after a capsize. I
would imagine that self bailers suit boats with pods best. I suppose one
could also pack the boat with bags etc. to minimize volume but that seesm
to be an awkward solution to me. The SOT fellows are probably getting a
snigger out of all this. :-)

 >Seems to
>be the general "worst case" for most of us; whether we blow a skirt in a
roll,
>have to do some sort of assisted or paddlefloaf re-entry, or do a re-entry
and
>roll, there's going to be a fair amount of water sloshing around.  This
>creates a serious instability problem and, with the added weight of the
water,
>wouldn't it be difficult to attain and maintain the kind of speed it would
>need to activate a self bailer?

This has always been the argument for pods and sea socks - that sloshing
water is minimized.  The puzzle is that, with all the emphaiss on safety
within sea kayaking that so few boats use pods. I have tried to get
builders of my boats to use them but they resist saying customers want the
easy cockpit storage. Then they rush right out and buy pumps etc. to make
the boat safer.

>  Any guesses how long it would take to empty
>an average sea kayak?

Only one way to find out. First we need and average sea kayak and
then...... :-)

> Seems a little unrealistic, and, with the complexity
>and vunerability of the widget, and the potential for the bailer to
>malfunction and become essentially a hole,

In over twenty years of serious sailboat racing I never had a self bailer
fail. The point about sand etc. is a good one but for many years I sailed
off beaches and always found them easy to flush out and keep functioning.


 >I'll stick with my Henderson foot
>pump.  Pricey, but effective --- empties out the boat in about a minute,
and
>doesn't effect my ability to put the skirt back on an at least brace if
not
>paddle.

The argument for the pod and self bailer hinges around not needing to
install the skirt immediately. One can paddle to safety, or raft up, or
whatever first. The bailer would empty any spray etc. while the pod keeps
the free surface volume down.

I think Matt Brose has some arguments against foot pumps but I cannot
recall what they were. Getting feet caught  in one and not being able to
exit might be a concern. Perhaps far fetched but still a possibility.

Having said all that, I am a bit anti bailer just because it is an added
gadget and an added hole in the boat. Of course, I don't even like hatches
so I am obviously an unrepentant  heretic.

Cheers,
John Winters
Redwing Designs
Specialists in Human Powered Watercraft
http://home.ican.net/~735769/

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