In a message dated 12/6/99 10:49:53 PM Pacific Standard Time, dlloyd_at_bc.sympatico.ca writes: << Also, stress cracks form all over the decks, but this is simply cosmetic damage to the gel coat. Bye! >> FLAME ALERT. FLAME ALERT. FLAME ALERT. FLAME ALERT. "X" and others rescues that drag one kayak over the other will damage both boats. Sea kayaks with the standard light lay-up, made for flat water paddling and easy car top loading, are part of the reason. For a quick reentry with empty boats and experienced paddlers maybe. Simpler is better with a loaded Sea kayak. Do a side by side rescue get the swimmer out of the cold northwest water and pump out the swamped kayak with your hand pumps. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Doug wrote: <snip><< Also, stress cracks form all over the decks, but this is simply cosmetic damage to the gel coat. Bye! >> Tom the Yaker said: >FLAME ALERT. FLAME ALERT. FLAME ALERT. FLAME ALERT. > >"X" and others rescues that drag one kayak over the other will damage both >boats. Sea kayaks with the standard light lay-up, made for flat water >paddling and easy car top loading, are part of the reason. For a quick >reentry with empty boats and experienced paddlers maybe. >Simpler is better with a loaded Sea kayak. Do a side by side rescue get the >swimmer out of the cold northwest water and pump out the swamped kayak with >your hand pumps. Duane said: <snip> >You never know when that rescue you don't >like can come in handy. Personally, I like the X rescue to perform quickly >between sets in the surf. In my original post, I was lamenting the damage my fiberglass kayak sustained during boat-over-boat rescues. Most of the damage occurred during rough water BCU certification training (both during the pre-certification training and then the subsequent post-training evaluation/certification knight-hood honors bestowed upon us by a representative of the Queen, you see). The resultant spider-cracking to our foredeck gel coat layers was surprising. After 18 years and multiple paint and repaint jobs, the cosmetic cracks still reappear. The less-tough North American kayaks did much worse, as hulls buckled on Seda type kayaks near their stress-riser points at fiberglass bulkheads; and coamings delammed or cracked on the Sea Otter type kayaks. I kept saying to myself, this is really dumb: swamped kayaks with the additional weight of gear in the compartments could suffer catastrophic failure. Even the lightly loaded kayaks (water and person and change of cloths) were bashing into each other in the waves causing damage. The HI deep water rescue was also a killer, but additionally, one's paddle took a beating when ever the overturned bow (or hull, depending when one flipped it) of the "victim's" kayak was dragged across the shafts of the two rescuer's paddles. Our Lendal one piece paddles were stout enough (in those days' at least), but the heat-shrink did chip and abrade mercilessly. As heat-shrink cannot be reapplied (for the finger strip) without cutting the shaft in half, the paddles were a pain to use after. The other problem was forearm strain. While most of us young guys did okay, the older fellows, the weaker ones, and most of the ladies (well, there was one, Stephanie Quonton Steel - an well known artist - for whom the instructor had kept in tears) had a heck of a difficult time. Later, most of us got together and figured out fast how to do a simple side rescue. Lee Moyer had just come out with the Stirrup-assisted Rescue (which years later is now in Hutchy's books). The Stirrup became de rigueur on most kayaks around Vancouver Island at that time, even if we just kept them for use with another paddler needing help who didn't have one. So, that is the long version of my post, with the point that if one is going to spend time teaching these particular deep water rescues, including the "T" and the "X", then one would be wise to invest in a cheap or used plastic kayak and have available a "beater" paddle. I didn't bother, because I gave up the formalized teaching route. Some of my friends turn some good coin as instructors, but I figure anytime you try to make money from your hobby, you are in trouble. Now, on to the usefulness of these deep water rescues. Tom has a point. Duane also has a point. The arguments in general for learning all these rescues, have been the topic of multiple threads in the past, and the pro's and con's have been debated in the pages of magazines like SK, including long letters to the editor. The bottom line for me has nothing to do with the actual rescues mentioned, but more to do with being prepared. Always, the more you have practiced, the greater number of back-up rescues and strategies, the more "tools" in your "tool box", the better off you are. I've often been on big trips with heavy loads of gear. After setting up camp, a bunch of us will often head out to do some short paddles from our "base". Some of the rescues are very appropriate in the high risk rock gardens, open water surf zones, etc. And of course, on day paddles with light weighted boats, great if you are all into it. But honestly, will your kayak take the degree of punishment? Are you strong enough? Do you want to cosmetically alter your kayak for good? What about folding kayaks? It's ironic that I will totally trash my hull every season or two, but my deck is sacrosanct. Keep your ugly butt hull off my deck, thank you very much! Now, if it is an emergency, then okay. What do you do if you want to learn all these boat-over-boat rescues but don't want to risk damaging your kayak? Rent! What will you do if you have a real life situation where someone has gone over and bailed out and the leader who has "situational awareness" points to you to assist? You will probably do a side rescue. Practice side rescues in a variety of conditions. Our club has taken members out to a big tide race off Trial Island with the coast guard auxiliary standing by, and have practiced side rescues. Do you paddle with specific partners or are you planning a trip with some acquaintances who you have never done rescues with before? Go practice with them, find out the individual preferences (over the side, between the boats, act). Make sure they carry the same deck load as they will have on the trip. Don't have the time and inclanation for boat-over-boat rescue practice, don't worry. Most of my friends who I paddle with who also teach, only do boat-over-boat during classes. If you are having a hard time getting back into your kayak with the side-by-side rescue or helping someone else with the reboarding, check out the latest issue of SK magazine for an article by my friend, Doug Alderson. Don't get SK, let me know and I'll post the jist of it in my own words and with a bit of my own slant. If you have read this post through to the end and already know all this stuff, sorry for wasting your time. BC'in Ya Doug Lloyd *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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