[Paddlewise] a thought on rescues

We have had a series of discussions here regarding such things as:

--Paddle float rescues.  The consensus is that it is dicey to have the
paddle stuck under a bungee at the end of the rescue leaving you to
either tip over again or wrench a shoulder.  And also the difficulty of
doing it without shoving the paddle under bungee (that's how I learned
to do it.) (We haven't even touched the problems of awkward people
needing stirrups, etc.)

--Rentry and roll.  A neat idea but froth with problems in getting the
skirt back on.  Ideally you should do it while still immersed in the
water but who among us has gills?

--Bilge pumps.  The difficulty of using one through a sprayskirt.  The
questions around electric ones etc.

--Sponsons.  Hmmm.  I'll leave that one lie. :-)

The list goes on.  Here is my thought:

Why in the world do people get themselves into boats that need all that?
You're probably guessing that this is leading to a sermon on folding
kayaks.  It is not.  My thought is--Why not use sit-on-tops?

Sit-on-tops probably would work for most of the paddling most people on
this listserver do.  They come in all sorts of form...some quite sleek
and speedy.  If you tip one over, what's to empty since they all have
scuppers?  Spray skirt?  What's that to a sit-on-top paddler!  Most are
fairly stable and don't need any sort of aid such as a paddle float to
get back on.

Sit-on-tops work real well for most of the months of the paddling season
in terms of air temperatures.  And even in colder weather, you can wear
a dry suit with lots more layers underneath.

Am I missing something here?  I think that closed boats should get a
long, hard look for their deficiencies and sit-on-tops be given more
their due as boats that are "no problem, mon!" said with a West Indian
lilt.

ralph diaz
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Ralph Diaz . . . Folding Kayaker newsletter
PO Box 0754, New York, NY 10024
Tel: 212-724-5069; E-mail: rdiaz_at_ix.netcom.com
"Where's your sea kayak?"----"It's in the bag."
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