Jim, Tim and Julio have all raised different issues and possibilities and so I'm answering them separately but in the one post below Jim, This sounds like it might be the sort of thing I'm looking for - I want to use the system after a capsize - do you deploy the drogue before exiting - I think I understand the equipment but not the sequence for using it. Jim wrote > I connect my paddle with a bungee to my kayak ahead of the cockpit. I use a carabiner to clip > my bowline and the main line for the sea anchor to the release loop on my spray deck. Tim, All I know is that its a very stable, beamy and quite heavy boat with air sponsons - I asked a question about rollability of Kleppers on Paddlewise a few months ago and got some vehement answers saying it would be foolish to try rolling a Klepper for self rscue. Subsequently I've won a few beers betting against expert kayakers who thought they could roll the Klepper. I guess I shouldn't say its impossible though. Has anyone on Paddlewise rolled a Klepper back up again? Anyway Tim thanks for the description of a possible technique. I must try it when I've learn't to roll properly in a hardshell. I was somewhat put off tethers by many people who have expressed concern about entanglement. Someone suggested a plastic coated surfboard leash would be less likely to tangle and I'm thinking of trying it on the practise session. One issue is that when the kayak is upside down to flip it back the easy way (reaching over the hull and pulling the cockpit) would drag the tether under the kayak unless one had first climbed flopped over the hull of the kayak to the other side. Tim wrote : - >Have you ever tried to roll a double Klepper? I've never seen a Klepper double, so maybe this >is a stupid question, but why is it un->rollable? >Earlier this summer, I was paddling a double kayak (a two ton, plastic Necky --- not a >foldable) and was surprised at how easy it >was to roll. The boat was wide, so stable you could >stand in it, and while not an open cockpit, it was a VERY loose fit. By using a >slow sweep >with an exagerated follow through onto the back deck, it rolled easilly. >As for separation from the boat, I just clip my towing harness into the deck lines. Since the >harness has a quick release mechanism, if I should get tangled up and need to separate from the >boat, its one quick tug and I'm free. If that fails, I always carry a knife on my >PFD in an >easy to grab location. Julio, I appreciate your kind comments about practice - but I'm puzzled about the one foot in the boat techniqe - I think I can understand using it for a partial capsize but does it work when you are fully capsized? Would it work in rough seas? This may sound elementary but I haven't heard about it before and would be glad to hear some more description about how and when to use the one leg in the boat method. Julio wrote >The most obvious procedure is to practice a partial exit--your foot stays inside the capsized >Kleper while you float besides it. Keep your paddle between you and the boat so that it does not >float away. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Yes, absolutely, leaving one foot inside the kayak to prevent separation works, even in rough water. For the ACA certification exam, it was a requirement. I had to show the paddlefloat rescue in rough water leaving one foot in the cockpit while I inflated the float, talking the students (actually instructor trainers) through it at the same time. So, unless there are inconsistencies in the ACA curriculum throughout the country, leaving one foot inside the cockpit after a capsize is a basic skill. Of course, the Klepper might be to big to even do that. I hope you keep us posted about your findings so we can sound the alarm if it does not work. I, and hopefully everyone on this list, really appreciate your research on this matter. - Julio > I appreciate your kind comments about practice - but I'm puzzled about the > one foot in the boat techniqe - I think I can understand using it for a > partial capsize but does it work when you are fully capsized? Would it work > in rough seas? This may sound elementary but I haven't heard about it before > and would be glad to hear some more description about how and when to use > the one leg in the boat method. > *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
At 12:05 PM 8/5/99 -0700, Julio MacWilliams wrote: >Yes, absolutely, leaving one foot inside the kayak to prevent separation >works, even in rough water. > >For the ACA certification exam, it was a requirement. I had >to show the paddlefloat rescue in rough water leaving one foot in >the cockpit while I inflated the float, talking the students >(actually instructor trainers) through it at the same time. > >So, unless there are inconsistencies in the ACA curriculum throughout >the country, leaving one foot inside the cockpit after a capsize is >a basic skill. There seems to a general tendency from what I've read so far to never use a "lifeline" but instead to use a "keep a foot in the cockpit" method to retain contact with your boat after a capsize. At the LL Bean sea kayaking symposium this year I had the fortune to see a presentation by Audrey Sutherland. Ms. Sutherland is a woman that I am guessing is in her 60's that has paddled extensively around Hawaii and the Alaskan coast. What makes here accomplishments remarkable is her age, that she does all of this solo, and that she paddles a 12' long inflatable kayak. One of the things that she said is that she *never* paddles without a lifeline. She attaches a 5-6' of rope to a deck line just behind the cockpit and then throws a loop under her arm and around her shoulder. Then she practices over and over in warm water (but in big seas) capsizing and reentering her kayak so that she knows that when conditions are less than optimal she's not going to get entangled in the rope. She also mentioned the importance of being able to stay with your boat in rough seas after a capsize. In a strong wind, a kayak can easily be blown across the water at greater than 10MPH. No human can swim that fast. All a PFD is going to do is keep you afloat while you die of hypothermia. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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