Ira Adams said"I fully agree that leaving lines of various types hanging loose in the cockpit is asking for trouble. I'm sure this is true, but I am recalling one occasion when I found it difficult to get out of my cockpit (on landing) because some loose gear had shifted down around my feet while paddling. Had I been upside down at the time, that might have been a panic moment! Having loose stuff in the cockpit may be as hazardous as having lines to hold things in place." Ira, et al: I too have experienced similar problems over the years. I finally tried deck bags. I say deck bags in the plural, because I had two eventually rip off in moderate surf launchings. I finally went to net bags on deck (one forward, one aft) as these drain fast and allow waves to "flow through". I still didn't trust my camera, GPS, cell phone and VHF out on deck, even in the net bags. And I also did not want to have to open the skirt to retrieve items in choppy seas from some type of cockpit bag, etc, so a normal knee tube was out of the question too. I eventually came up with a design that looks like an upside-down turtle shell. It is glassed under the fore deck and shaped to fit between the knees. It has a drain plug, and is also padded for comfort. I moulded a 4" hatch into the top deck, immediately above the "knee tube". I used a good quality hatch, as the run of the mill 4" hatches leak too much. So, sun screen, power bars, etc, go in the front net bag; paddle float, survival poly bag, sponge and sandles (etc) go in the rear net bag. And into the small hatch, easily accessible and 100% bombproof from waves, go the valubles. Voila! Doug Lloyd Victoria BC *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
Doug Lloyd wrote: > > ...<snip>... I eventually came up with a design that looks like > an upside-down turtle shell. It is glassed under the fore deck and shaped > to fit between the knees. It has a drain plug, and is also padded for > comfort. I moulded a 4" hatch into the top deck, immediately above the "knee > tube". I used a good quality hatch, as the run of the mill 4" hatches leak > too much. ...<snip>... What a great idea! Secure, dry storage that is easily accessed from the cockpit without removing the skirt. But what type of hatch is this "good quality hatch" to which you refer, and where did you get it? Inquiring minds want to know... Dan Hagen Bellingham, Washington *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
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