Re: [Paddlewise] Nearly Fatal

Hi all,

    To Debs: Your response to this unfortunate soul's plight is laudable. I 
have every confidence that you treated this person with compassion and grace. 
I only hope that he listens to your advise and seeks help from a local club 
regarding safety training. Please don't boycott anything it will only serve 
to weaken your position.

    To Rob: I too (not surprisingly) think that the tone of the postings has 
been somewhat damning. I too feel personal responsibility is the only thing 
that will properly address the potential for death via common objects. But no 
one addresses, prior to sale, the dangerous aspects of kayaking. This should 
change.

    To PW: Old Town's definition of built in flotation is accurate for the 
nature of the craft in question. This boat will not sink but it is not 
capable of being paddled while swamped. Without any water displacing 
floatation the boat fills with water quickly and is nearly impossible to 
right unless you have great upper body strength *and* excellent footing. This 
boat is the quintessential "recreational kayak" designed, built and sold to 
"entry level" kayakers, in other words a boat in search of an incident.

    To the Store: Thousands of these boats have been sold and used without 
incident...until now! They should be sold *with* floatation or not at all! 
Shame on the salesman for not expounding the dangers of winter paddling to an 
obvious novice buying a boat in the wintertime! Would you sell a gun to 
someone in the midst of a psychotic episode?  Of course not??? well......???  
Do not underestimate the negative effect of bad press. Tread lightly when 
dealing with a safety concerned paddle club administrator with an audience, 
you may live to see your patrons buy elsewhere.

    To Ralph: What you decide to do must be based on fact. I have every 
confidence that you will think long and hard before taking some action that 
might hurt a potential safety node like the dealership in question.

    To PW: Every boat that I have bought came with an owners manual, however 
sparse, they did include cautions to seek training and additional safety 
information. I suspect the OT Loon came with such a manual. Deb did the right 
thing, the WetOne lived, the shop was notified.

    TheWetOne is a fool, but I don't want him to die in a kayak on my watch.

Jed

***************************************************************************
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/
***************************************************************************