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From: <VajraT_at_aol.com>
subject: [Paddlewise] Roll or Die?
Date: Tue, 11 May 1999 17:55:55 EDT
Timothy.g.mattson_at_intel.com writes:  > If the conditions are
>  bad enough that I need to swim, I've done something really stupid and
>  deserve to byte the big one.  
Well, me too.  But I'd still like to somehow slither out of my well-deserved 
death if something goes wrong.   

You are spot-on about rolling.  It's irresponsible of senior paddlers and 
instructors to not encourage people to learn to roll.   (Though I doubt many 
instructors would say this: bad business sense!)  More often, it's the 
paddler who becomes intimidated.  With drysuits for outdoor practice, and 
pool sessions everywhere, everyone should try to learn to roll.  As Tim says, 
whitewater paddlers learn to roll early on, and sea boats are not very 
different to roll.  Especially when you consider that even most severe ocean 
conditions would be easier to roll in than many whitewater situations. 

I'm pretty confident in my roll, and I do practice.  But I can think of 
expedition conditions which could cause me to fail, such as injury or 
weakness from a flu, gastro-intestinal distress, etc.  So a pump makes sense 
for me.  

Especially if we are talking under $50 for a foot pump, and under $30 for 
electric.  I have a Klepper, and I could see tossing a small electric pump 
in, and running an outlet hose out the mast fitting.   
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From: <dldecker_at_se.mediaone.net>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Roll or Die?irresponsible
Date: Tue, 11 May 1999 19:15:09 -0400
At 05:55 PM 5/11/99 EDT, VajraT_at_aol.com wrote:
>Timothy.g.mattson_at_intel.com writes:  > If the conditions are
>>  bad enough that I need to swim, I've done something really stupid and
>>  deserve to byte the big one.  
>Well, me too.  But I'd still like to somehow slither out of my well-deserved 
>death if something goes wrong.   
>
>You are spot-on about rolling.  It's irresponsible of senior paddlers and 
>instructors to not encourage people to learn to roll.   (Though I doubt many 
>instructors would say this: bad business sense!)  More often, it's the 
>paddler who becomes intimidated.  With drysuits for outdoor practice, and 
>pool sessions everywhere, everyone should try to learn to roll.  As Tim
says, 
>whitewater paddlers learn to roll early on, and sea boats are not very 
>different to roll.  Especially when you consider that even most severe ocean 
>conditions would be easier to roll in than many whitewater situations. 
>

 Call me irresponsible because I don't encourage people to learn to roll
till after they learn how to paddle and do self rescues. Every one (
almost) want to learn how to roll first and to learn other skills later. If
you can do a paddle float reentry and have your BASIC skills I (me
personally) feel you are better off than knowing how to roll and not have
your BASIC skills. nuff said.you can start yelling now!!!

Dana
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From: Bob Myers <bob_at_intelenet.net>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Roll or Die?
Date: Tue, 11 May 1999 16:39:23 -0700
On May 11, 17:55, VajraT_at_aol.com wrote:
} Subject: [Paddlewise] Roll or Die?
> Timothy.g.mattson_at_intel.com writes:  > If the conditions are
> >  bad enough that I need to swim, I've done something really stupid and
> >  deserve to byte the big one.  
> Well, me too.  But I'd still like to somehow slither out of my well-deserved 
> death if something goes wrong.   
> 
> You are spot-on about rolling.  It's irresponsible of senior paddlers and 
> instructors to not encourage people to learn to roll.   (Though I doubt many 
> instructors would say this: bad business sense!)  More often, it's the 
> paddler who becomes intimidated.  With drysuits for outdoor practice, and 
> pool sessions everywhere, everyone should try to learn to roll.  As Tim says, 
> whitewater paddlers learn to roll early on, and sea boats are not very 
> different to roll.  Especially when you consider that even most severe ocean 
> conditions would be easier to roll in than many whitewater situations. 
> 
> I'm pretty confident in my roll, and I do practice.  But I can think of 
> expedition conditions which could cause me to fail, such as injury or 
> weakness from a flu, gastro-intestinal distress, etc.  So a pump makes sense 
> for me.  
> 
> Especially if we are talking under $50 for a foot pump, and under $30 for 
> electric.  I have a Klepper, and I could see tossing a small electric pump 
> in, and running an outlet hose out the mast fitting.   


You roll a Klepper?

Some sea kayaks are pretty easy to roll, but I've never heard that the
Kleppers are.

I've never been in a Klepper, though, so maybe my impression is incorrect.


-- 
Bob Myers                          InteleNet Communications, Inc.
Email: bob_at_InteleNet.net           18101 Von Karman Avenue, Suite 550
Phone: 949-851-8250 x227           Irvine, CA 92612
Fax:   949-851-1088                http://www.intelenet.net/
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From: John Waddington <waddinj_at_recorder.ca>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Roll or Die?
Date: Wed, 12 May 1999 07:25:43 -0400
VajraT_at_aol.com wrote:

> You are spot-on about rolling.  It's irresponsible of senior paddlers and
> instructors to not encourage people to learn to roll. 

I don't agree.  I can roll easily on both sides and do so if I need to
and also to cool off, but many of the people that I often paddle with
don't need a roll.  About a quarter of this group could be described as
seniors and they paddle on calm rivers and lakes within a couple hundred
metres of shore, in good conditions. If the weather is bad (or predicted
to be bad) or the water is lumpy, they don't go out. For a lot of them,
learning to roll a sea kayak at their age is just not there for someone
who mainly wants to take a quiet paddle on a nice day. They wear their
PFDs, carry all the necessary safety equipment, and paddle safely. If
any are interested in rolling I would certainly help them learn, but I
am not going to tell them they should be rolling. Would they be safer
with a roll? Probably, but for their purposes it is not a necessity.  

John
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From: <VajraT_at_aol.com>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Roll or Die?
Date: Wed, 12 May 1999 10:08:00 EDT
In a message dated 11-5-1999 6:39:35 PM EST, bob_at_intelenet.net writes:

> You roll a Klepper?

Sorry for the confusion: I have two boats, a McNulty Huntsman and a Klepper 
Aerius tandem.  I haven't rolled the Klepper.
Bye, Jim
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From: Bob Myers <bob_at_intelenet.net>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Roll or Die?
Date: Wed, 12 May 1999 16:22:33 -0700
On May 12, 10:08, VajraT_at_aol.com wrote:
} Subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Roll or Die?
> In a message dated 11-5-1999 6:39:35 PM EST, bob_at_intelenet.net writes:
> 
> > You roll a Klepper?
> 
> Sorry for the confusion: I have two boats, a McNulty Huntsman and a Klepper 
> Aerius tandem.  I haven't rolled the Klepper.

So how important is a roll for a Klepper paddler?

There really is a point to this - rolling is only a necessary skill
if your boat is prone to capsizing.  Not all kayaks are, as you know.

Rolling is not really a necessary skill for a Klepper paddler, wouldn't
you agree?



-- 
Bob Myers                          InteleNet Communications, Inc.
Email: bob_at_InteleNet.net           18101 Von Karman Avenue, Suite 550
Phone: 949-851-8250 x227           Irvine, CA 92612
Fax:   949-851-1088                http://www.intelenet.net/
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From: Greg Hollingsworth <Gregh_at_abs.net>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Roll or Die?
Date: Wed, 12 May 1999 20:40:53 -0400
> Rolling is not really a necessary skill for a Klepper paddler, wouldn't
> you agree?

I guess, if you paddle the Klepper on a small pond in your backyard... 

Seriously, it depends on the conditions that you expect (or don't
expect) to encounter.  Are you saying that a Klepper is so stable that
it will <never ever> tip?  If you tip, then a roll is the best method to
recover.  I can't imagine that a Klepper (or any other boat) is
tip-proof given the right conditions.  Around here thunderstorms arrive
with little advance warning, I've seen dead calm conditions turn into
40-50 MPH gusts in a matter of minutes.  

Rolling is easy <and> fun to learn.  Anybody can do it!!

Learning to roll requires more finesse than physical strength.  The
biggest inhibitor to learning to roll seems to be the fear of being
upside-down in the boat.  This fear seems to revolve around unexpected
encounters with sea critters.  I guess that people think that a snake or
shark is going to bite their face while being downside up.

Greg

-
Greg Hollingsworth 

EMAIL: gregh_at_abs.net   PHONE: 240-228-6065 WWW: abs.net/~gregh/kayaking
LIVES: Sykesville, Maryland   WORKS:  Johns Hopkins/Applied Physics Lab
PADDLES: Red Nordkapp usually on Chesapeake tributaries
-
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From: Mark Zen <canoeist_at_netbox.com>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Roll or Die?
Date: Wed, 12 May 1999 18:57:57 +0000
At 16:22 5/12/99 -0700,  bob_at_intelenet.net (Bob Myers) wrote:
>
>On May 12, 10:08, VajraT_at_aol.com wrote:
>} Subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Roll or Die?
>> In a message dated 11-5-1999 6:39:35 PM EST, bob_at_intelenet.net writes:
>> 
>> > You roll a Klepper?
>> 
>> Sorry for the confusion: I have two boats, a McNulty Huntsman and a Klepper 
>> Aerius tandem.  I haven't rolled the Klepper.
>
>So how important is a roll for a Klepper paddler?
>
>There really is a point to this - rolling is only a necessary skill
>if your boat is prone to capsizing.  Not all kayaks are, as you know.
>
>Rolling is not really a necessary skill for a Klepper paddler, wouldn't
>you agree?

my two cents finally had to come out ... i may not ever be able to roll a boat
again [and i've only rolled a canoe, one time, second try, in a pool, with
several _top_ coaches!!] ... and now paddle a sea kayak, mostly. so i rely
on not ever going over!! now, that means sometimes i never get to relax. i also
paddle up to class III whitewater in a kayak. i don't believe that a roll is
the end all, and maybe some will say "if you can't roll, you can't go" or else
say "you have no business being out in that" ... but i make a very, very careful
decision every time i paddle ... is this "over my head" and "could it become that way"

sometimes the answer to the first is no, the second is no, and i go. sometimes
the answer is no/yes, and i have to evaluate, another question, what are the
chances of it going bad... if low, i still go; if high, i pass. i was supposed
to lead a trip last weekend, which i hope still went, as the flood waters had
come way up, and then dropped to a fun level, i've paddled much higher before.
i still passed [partly due to injury, but that also weighed in on the choice]. i
could have run it, but if rocks had shifted in the river, and rapids changed
around blind corners, the risk to me was too high.

unfortunately, many that don't make the right choice, do so through ignorance,
not stupidity. i feel lucky to have been a canoeing instructor in the past, and
have experience making educated choices in this field... 

and now that i've rambled, i watched my solo canoe rolled once, by someone else.
of course from the surface ;-) that doesn't seem to be much of a feat, but, the
it is a fiberglass touring boat, with a seat, not a saddle. the seat ripped out 
on the first try. the second try was just the hull & thwarts, kneeling on a foam
pad [glued to hull]. as we could see the paddle, and hand positions there wasn't 
any trickery, just a very slow rollup, with the hip snap. impressive.

will you die if you can't roll? in some situations, yes. will you ever encounter
those situations? you must make a very careful decision there... once in the middle
of the atlantic, during a hurricane, i saw the flight deck of an aircraft acrrier
get washed by waves!!

mark

#------canoeist[at]netbox[dot]com--------------------------------------
mark zen                      o,    o__              o_/|   o_.
po box 474                   </     [\/              [\_|   [\_\
ft. lupton, co 80621-0474 (`-/-------/----')      (`----|-------\-')
#~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_at_~~~~~~~_at_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_at_~~~~~~~~_at_~~~~~
http://www.diac.com/~zen/paddler  [index of Paddling websites I manage]
Rocky Mtn Sea Kayak Club, Colorado River Flows, Poudre Paddlers
The Colorado Paddlers' Resource, Rocky Mtn Canoe Club Trip Page 
--
Computers are useless. They can only give you answers.
--Pablo Picasso

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From: <Bhansen97_at_aol.com>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Roll or Die?
Date: Wed, 12 May 1999 21:35:07 EDT
In a message dated 99-05-12 07:47:31 EDT, you write:

<< About a quarter of this group could be described as
 seniors and they paddle on calm rivers and lakes within a couple hundred
 metres of shore, in good conditions.  >>

John - Be careful how you characterize people  :-)   . I'll be 65 in a couple 
of months, and I paddle in a moderate sized lake (1.5  40 mi) all months of 
the year, and also do open ocean paddling quite often, up to Beaufort 5 
conditions. If more than that is expected, I try really hard not to be on the 
water.. Like one or two others in the group, my joy is in the paddling; I 
don't seek out storms, or ice, or darkness, etc etc etc.... 

I have an essentially bomb-proof roll on my left, and an almost bomb-proof 
roll on my right. I do practice paddle-float rescues (*also* practice the 
outrigger rescue, Matt) and also re-entry and roll, and I practice those 
things often. I can do them in Bft 5 conditions.

So far I haven't felt the need for anything more than a hand-held pump, but I 
have to admit that the discussions this year have gotten me interested in 
adding either an electric pump or a foot pump to one of my boats.

Laughing - Bill
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From: Bob Myers <bob_at_intelenet.net>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Roll or Die?
Date: Wed, 12 May 1999 19:43:14 -0700
On May 12, 20:40, Greg Hollingsworth wrote:
} Subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Roll or Die?
> > Rolling is not really a necessary skill for a Klepper paddler, wouldn't
> > you agree?
> 
> I guess, if you paddle the Klepper on a small pond in your backyard... 
> 
> Seriously, it depends on the conditions that you expect (or don't
> expect) to encounter.  Are you saying that a Klepper is so stable that
> it will <never ever> tip?  If you tip, then a roll is the best method to
> recover.  I can't imagine that a Klepper (or any other boat) is
> tip-proof given the right conditions.  Around here thunderstorms arrive
> with little advance warning, I've seen dead calm conditions turn into
> 40-50 MPH gusts in a matter of minutes.  
> 
> Rolling is easy <and> fun to learn.  Anybody can do it!!

It's not easy and fun to learn in every boat, though.  

Ok, hands up.  How many people here have actually rolled a Klepper?
Anyone?  If so, I want to hear your opinion about rolling a Klepper
in case of an accidental capsize in rough conditions.






-- 
Bob Myers                          InteleNet Communications, Inc.
Email: bob_at_InteleNet.net           18101 Von Karman Avenue, Suite 550
Phone: 949-851-8250 x227           Irvine, CA 92612
Fax:   949-851-1088                http://www.intelenet.net/
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From: Hank Hays <lhays_at_canby.com>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Roll or Die?
Date: Wed, 12 May 1999 21:45:23 -0700
Bob Myers wrote:

>It's not easy and fun to learn in every boat, though.  
>
>Ok, hands up.  How many people here have actually rolled a Klepper?
>Anyone?  If so, I want to hear your opinion about rolling a Klepper
>in case of an accidental capsize in rough conditions.

Never been in a Klepper that I can remember.  I have, however rolled an 18
foot aluminum Grumman canoe which can't be much easier.  No floatation in
it, so I was full of water, but upright at the end which counted (on a $25
bet).  In the standing waves at the bottom of a class three rapids.  Dunno
if that qualifies as "rough conditions" or not.....

Hank Hays
Ex-decked C-1 paddler
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From: Andree Hurley <ahurley_at_viewit.com>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Roll or Die?
Date: Fri, 14 May 1999 11:56:24 -0400 (EDT)
OK, I once rolled a double Klepper with a friend twice in a row, but it
was sort of a joke for us and a demo at the symposium.  The fully loaded 
Kleppers we toured in Baja would be hard pressed to flip, and impossible 
to roll as we sat on our stuff. You could probably roll a single in some 
situations..


Andree Hurley
Hurley Design Communications - ICQ# 27469637
Web Sites for Specialty Businesses -  http://www.viewit.com/HDC/
Kayaking - http://www.viewit.com/KIX/ http://www.viewit.com/wtr/kayak.html

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From: <VajraT_at_aol.com>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Roll or Die?
Date: Thu, 13 May 1999 11:49:11 EDT
> Are you saying that a Klepper is so stable that
>  it will <never ever> tip?  If you tip, then a roll is the best method to
>  recover.  I can't imagine that a Klepper (or any other boat) is
>  tip-proof given the right conditions. 

Obviously no kayak is tip-proof.  
But if you've never been in a Klepper tandem in large swell, you might be 
surprised how stable it feels.  With paddlers of moderate or better skills, 
it's about as close to tip-proof as kayaks get.  I haven't done extensive 
tests, but in terms of the subjective feel, it's almost a different order of 
stability from any other kayak I've ever been in.  I have been in situations 
where I've felt we had no right to stay upright, but we did!
Cheers, Jim
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