[Paddlewise] One man life raft or super paddle float

From: Gary Pewitt <gpewitt_at_execpc.com>
Date: Sun, 17 Oct 1999 10:56:27 -0500
After reading Matt Broze's article on survival rafts in Sea Kayaker Magazine's
book "Deep Trouble" I decided to get one.  Unlike Matt I had no trouble
finding one.
Fair Radio Sales  http://www.fairradio.com  has them in their catalog for
$59.50 plus postage.
After mine came I inflated it manualy and left it for a week with no signs
of leakage.
It folds up about the size of a Sears catalog and weighs only five pounds.
I plan to
keep it on the floor of my boat under my knees and attach a line from the
sea anchor
loop to a tab on my pfd via a quick release.  This way if I exit the boat
so does the
raft.  I will probably loosly wrap it in some foam for floatation when
uninflated.
I then have the option of inflating the raft to A. get out of the cold water,
B. use it as a super paddle float to re-enter and pump out my boat, C. use
it as a
life raft if my boat is blown away.  I can think of many other uses.

Question...  How does one rig up a CO2 cartridge to the inflation valve?
Inflating
by mouth is a bit slow.  It did not come with instructions and I don't know
the
military manual number. 
 
Even if I never need it (and I hope I don't) it makes a nice toy.
  
Hmmm... they even have the orange survival box kite.  Hook a strobe to it
and send it up
a few hundred feet at night.  Ought to attract some attention.

 73  Gary 
Gary Pewitt  N9ZSV/KT  gpewitt_at_execpc.com
6120 W. Calumet Rd. Apt. 204, Milwaukee, WI  53223
414 355 8147 home    414 297 4307 work
Sturgeon's Law "Ninety percent of everything is crap."

	
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Received on Sun Oct 17 1999 - 09:00:41 PDT

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