Re: [Paddlewise] Visibility

I think Scott was remiss in not outfitting the hypathetical kayak with a hot-tub
or jacuzzi.  With several friends soaking on board they could easily hurl a
barrage of aluminum beer cans to act as a radar reflector when ever an approaching
vessel was sighted.

On a more serious note I thank Ralph for his unique perspective of being high up
on a power boat where he can see kayak hulls and color does make a big
difference.  My Romany is yellow top and bottom, mostly so I can wave at the nice
coast guard guys when they fly out to save my butt in a helicopter in the worst
case scenario.  Most of the time though I am more worried about visability from
small boat to small boat.  My experience on the Great Lakes has shown me that
small fishing boats and jet skis are the worst problem since their paths are hard
to predict.  The big bulk carriers are up to 1100 feet long on the Great Lakes
they look real scary, but they tend to go in nice predictable directions and
rarely move at more than 18 knots.

For me I consider kayak to kayak visibility my first priority when traveling in a
group of kayakers.  I try to assume that powerboaters don't see me and I take
evasive action as best I can.  Back in 1990 I did a 85 mile Lake Michigan crossing
with three friends and the four of us all bought these really ugly flourescent
colored baseball hats.  I had yellow, Dave Ide neon red, Gary Brindel was Orange,
and Rich Morgan was neon green.  Although the hats were of questionable taste and
staring too long was to risk retinal damage they kept our group together and let
us quickly identify each other in 3-5 foot that otherwise could have scattered our
group.

KiAyker_at_aol.com wrote:

>    Perhaps the answer to making ourselves more visible would be to raise the
> height of our boats. We could raise the decks, and make the boat a bit wider
> to compensate. Then, since we couldn't really reach the water with our paddles
> we could just cover up the cockpit and add a motor. Then we could build on a
> little cabin with all the electronics imaginable so we would not only be
> visible, but we would never get lost. In fact if we built it just a little bit
> larger then we could take the whole family with us! Perhaps add a bathroom and
> a kitchen! Yeah baby, now that's kayaking.
>
> Scott
> So.Cal.
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