<Bill Leonhardt wrote: I would like to invite the experienced people on the list to comment on the towing process. Equipment, technique, what to do and, maybe more importantly, what NOT to do.> a longish post Hi Bill, I think I'm safe in predicting you are going to be overwhelmed by posts on this subject. A lot of this is rehashing well tried methods but it does no harm to air them once more. Here's what works for me. I use a twofold system both waist and boat mounted which gives me speed of deployment in the short term and ease of towing in the long term. A prime consideration is 'how quick can I rid myself of this tow system' so an effective and foolproof release is paramount. Bear in mind, for instance, that a waist belt may invert on one's body making it near impossible to reach the quick release. One good reason for carrying a knife that's easy to hand. A velcro fastening has it's advantages given that it can be ripped off when things go awry. I make my own which costs a fraction of the retail using pretty much standard components: i.e. Webbing belt, quick release dive buckle, line pouch, a stainless steel ring and a salt resistant carabiner.( Oh yeah, clear it with your partner before you use the sewing machine for heavy duty work !). Optional extras such as a float are useful as many a belt has disappeared below. I have seen models with a 2nd. line perhaps for another tow or a throw line which seems a little to cumbersome for me to deal with when the doodoo hits the fan. The primary function is to remove the victim quickly from further danger. For instance, towing victim plus boat outside the break line prior to rescue or removing same from a localized ledge break to calmer waters nearby. A short assist to a tired paddler to clear a less than favorable area. Examples abound but the criteria for me is slide alongside, withdraw krab, clip and go in the shortest possible time. One's perceptions alter under duress and it's a definite advantage to be able to carry out a rescue with the minimum of screwing around. Can actually reach your clip, is the belt wedged under your P.F.D., will the quick release be released inadvertently as you ferret around, will the clip have a large enough gate to allow trouble free attachment and can you do it with cold hands? Practice, praxes, praxes. How many rescues is enough? On the subject of boat attachment; I prefer to clip the declines ( 'cos we all have declines on our boats..right ) rather than the bow or stern loops. The advantage being if a deck fitting pulls out under the stress you have more to work with but if the bow loop breaks you have to go in and reattach the tow. I prefer not to tote a lot of line as I am trying to keep the system light, lean and easy to deal with. 30' seems more than adequate. The down side for the waist tow for me as a primary system is that all the strain falls on the abdomen. A partner and I, in singles, once towed an empty loaded double for 2 days which ranks with one of the more excruciating experiences I care to remember. O.K. the boat tow. My preferred system was first introduced a number of years ago by Howard Jeff's, a B.C.U. Coach and all round good lad. I chain coil about 120' of floating line down to a third of it's size complete with a length of (optional) heavy duty bungee cord crimped in as a shock absorber. This gets stuffed into a bag and velcro'd of bungee'd to the rear deck just behind the cockpit. The line passes through the bag to a faired, centrally located just aft of the cockpit as feasible, to a cam cleat fixed off to one side and within reach.The hook/clip whatever can be packed in or out the bag and most times I simply turn, reach back and rip the thing off the deck. I find it's easier to do that than fiddle about unhooking the clip. I have day hatches on both my boats angled to one side allowing the towing system to be fixed on the other leave enough rope through the cleat which is enough to grab, tug and release the system. Off it goes, bag and all. I have never noticed any particular problems with split paddles being swept off the rear deck although I habitually carry mine on the front. Chain coiling allows one to vary the tow length depending on conditions. i.e. a head on or a following sea . A head-on sea requires a shorter length which cuts down the amount of rope drag through the water whilst a following sea requires enough rope so the victim does not end up surfing onto your back deck. I rarely paddle a ruddered boat so can't comment with any authority on how that interferes with a boat mounted tow. It would be a pain to have the line continually catch under the cable but I'll leave that to others to comment on. I urge any of you who are so interested to go out and practice with your friends. It can be very entertaining mayhem more akin to the chariot scene in Ben Hur !When you've done it in flat water go into the waves, into the rock gardens, try a in line tow, try a husky tow. An sometimes overlooked advantage of a good tow system is the stabilizing of a rescue. It can be very useful to have a boat hook up and keep the whole rescue pointed up wind or up current allowing the rescuers to concentrate on getting people back in their boats. Lastly, a theoretically risky tow I have used a good effect a couple of times. I outfit my boats with a short paddle leash a couple of feet long maybe with a big paddle carabiner on the business end and the other just clipped in to a deck line. I've used this as a contact tow particularly with sea sick victims who are unable or cannot be trusted to stay upright. I clip in to their deck line so they are positioned immediately behind my cockpit hopefully allowing me to reach over their bow and paddle. They, of course, can lean on my boat .It works pretty well but brings up the problem of release. It's late and I didn't realize how opinionated I have become! Over to you. Hooli *************************************************************************** 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 Apr 07 1999 - 18:26:37 PDT
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