Re: [Paddlewise] Gaia paddlefloat

Far be it for me to debate the virtues of paddle floats with the father
of this form of rescue who is also the manufacturer of a paddle float
and who, not coincidentally, makes kayaks that have good strapping
setups on their rear decks to secure/hold the inboard end of a paddle
being used with a paddle float outboard.  Hey, all I know are folding
kayaks, which don't really need paddle floats for self-rescue :-) (You
may ask then why do I bring one with me.  Perhaps because I don't want
to feel left out and wanna be just like the other fellas in their
hardshells. :-))

My observation regarding regular two chambered paddle floats floating
around is based primarily on several things on two levels.

A. The paddlefloat in its self-rescue mode:

1) a number of paddle floats while having two chambers have only one
inflation tube; so you don't have a choice of leaving one chamber
deflated.  So you are always going to have a fairly big air bladder on
two sides.

2) the other is that many kayaks do not have a rock solid set of rear
deck strapping (or bungee) that truly can hold the paddle perpendicular
to the boat.  It takes a pretty super holding setup on the back deck to
keep the paddle perpendicular.  Lots of bungee is too loose which is
perhaps something not so bad in the overall scheme of things (the
tighter the hold on the inboard end of a paddle being used in a paddle
float rescue, the harder it is to remove once the rescue and pump out
are achieved, and the greater the risk of re-capsizing as one tries to
yank it out).

3) Whatever the form of holding the paddle's inboard end (bungee/straps
or holding it by hand), I have experienced and seen happen to others the
following when a dual chamber paddlefloat is used:  Somewhere in the
process the outboard paddle floated end tends to move fore or aft and
away from 90 degrees to the boat.  It may be because of shape of the
paddle floats or it may be because of the double chambers.

The Gaia Swell Ultralite, because of the down face side being made of
mesh allowing the paddle blade to sink a bit before the float chamber on
the top side kicks in to provide flotation, seems to anchor better on
that outboard end.

B.  The paddle float in its
left-on-the-blade-to-paddle-the-hell-outta-your-predicament mode:

1)  Paddle floats are generally quite broad and for the most part not
particularly lengthy.  Whether you can leave one of two chambers
deflated or not, you have a device at the end of your paddle that is as
wide and the shape of a dinner tray only fatter.  Not the greatest thing
for paddling.

2.  The Gaia Swell Ultralite is quite long and only as
wide as the blade.  (It also has a shaping to it built into the
airchamber. I wish I could draw its cross-section in email.)  It feels a
lot better paddling with it on a blade than it does with any other
paddle float I have tried rigid or inflatable.  Oh, you know you have a
float out there but it is the least intrusive on paddling strokes.

Oh, another thing I forgot to give in my answer to my friend Bill
Leonardt's request about freezing of the valve.  If you store the Gail
paddle float folded up and tucked between your PFD and your body, none
of the paddlefloat is likely to get iced up thanks to body warmth.

ralph 





Matt Broze wrote:
> 
> Ralph wrote:
> >>Because of using a single chamber with just
> mesh on the other side, this paddle float tends to stay put on the water
> better than others I have used. I don't know how many of you have had
> the experience of a paddlefloat, well, floating around away from the
> desirable position of being absolutely perpendicular to the kayak; I
> think this happens because of the double chambers. The Gaia Ultralite
> doesn't do this, i.e. it stays put better on the water end of the
> paddlefloat rescue. I think it has to do with the paddle blade resting
> directly on the water since there is only mesh between it and the
> water. Incidentally, the air chamber is articulated in the sense that
> it is not just a flat item that rounds out when inflated. There is some
> shaping to the float portion and so it seems to grip better than other
> floats.<<
> 
> I can see how more buoyancy keeping the paddlefloat floating higher in the
> water might mean the paddle could move easier. Since a double chambered
> float could have more or less buoyancy depending on its manufactured size or
> even how much air was put into it I fail to see what having two chambers
> available (but not necessarily inflated) would make any difference here. I
> am also having trouble understanding how it is possible for the paddle to
> stay perpendicular to the boat without fastening it to the boat somehow or
> holding it in that position. Perhaps Ralph could elaborate on how this
> works. I can see how if there was some way the float gripped the water
> (shape or fins?) it wouldn't move as easily and therefore a paddler holding
> it in place might not move it accidentally while maneuvering to get in the
> boat. However if that was the case this same feature would be a detriment to
> holding it in place in waves that pushed against the float (through whatever
> was holding it in place in the now moving water). Same if the ends of the
> boat were being batted around in chop and forcing it around while the paddle
> blade stayed fixed in the water.
> Fastening the paddle to the boat firmly enough to create a fixed outrigger
> solves this scissoring problem and works fine with any kind of float with
> adequate buoyancy. Fixing the paddle to the deck also solves the swamped
> (tippy) kayak during pumpout problem. This period of instability while the
> kayak is being pumped is rarely addressed by those promoting the re-enter
> and roll or hold the paddle in place while you reenter methods (both of
> which I like only for special situations like in surf or when using a
> strange boat that is not equipped to hold the paddle to the deck). Maybe
> they all have hands free electric pumps.
> BTW if you don't inflate one chamber on a double chambered paddle float it
> will leave one side of the blade flat to use for emergency paddling or any
> other time you might want that shape (such as, if Ralph's observations are
> correct, that a flat sided shape has something to do with holding the paddle
> in place). One use for a flat side might be to keep the floats higher above
> the water if using two paddlefloats on a spare paddle (perpendicular across
> the back deck) as outriggers. Turning the flat side down would mean the
> float was higher above the water and therefore less likely to snag and slow
> the kayak while paddling. Best would be a way to fix the shaft so the blades
> were set at a slight planing angle so if they contacted the water they would
> skim on it rather than snagging.
> Matt Broze
> http://www.marinerkayaks.com
> 
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Ralph Diaz . . . Folding Kayaker newsletter
PO Box 0754, New York, NY 10024
Tel: 212-724-5069; E-mail: rdiaz_at_ix.netcom.com
"Where's your sea kayak?"----"It's in the bag."
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