Re: [Paddlewise] throw bag construction

Under the guilty confessions category.....I years ago used a tow line with just
a caribeener release.  Easy to release under tension but impossible to release
under pressure.  I was planning to get one of those nice cam-cleat releases, but
when would you really need one.  Well after a bit of a problem trip where I had
a paddler capsize four times I ended up putting him in his boat with the dual
paddle float training wheels and towing him.  The guy had a had a long day
already and knowing that I was taking a bit of risk I towed him in through some
moderate surf of 3-5 feet to keep the poor SOB from having to hit the water.  If
I had to do it again I probably would have rafted up with him and side surfed in
tandem or just had him bail out and swim in on my bow.

The start of the tow was great since his boat acted as a sea anchor and even on
the steep waves I was not being surfed.  About half way in I saw the rope shoot
out in front of me and all I could think was (I wish I had spent 20 bucks on
that cam-cleat!).  No harm done I surfed sideways and backwards in with the
towed kayak towing me.  I had a knife handy and I could have cut my way loose if
I had flipped and gotten tangled.  I landed on the beach right side up, but it
sure would have been nice to release that line with a flick of the wrist.

Don't flame me for being foolish.  I was taking a small risk to look after
someones comfort.  Like I say in the future I would either ride the raft or say
tough luck, I don't care how cold you are but your swiming the last 30 yards.
The cam-cleat system I now use is easy to release and in true BCU fashion I even
practice releasing it "whilst upside down".

The most hairy towing incident that I ever heard of was a guide buddy (name
delleted to protect the not so innocent) who towed and empty kayak back so a
friend of his would not have to head out into surf that was a little over his
head.  It was just a 1/2 mile back to the car and he was just going to tow the
boat back out and then back to shore.  Well that mega-rogue wave grabbed him
back-ender his kayak, and when he set up to roll he discovered his arms were
lashed to his sides!  Not cool.  He could still pop his spray skirt and worm his
way loose, but he never got casual about entanglement hazards again.

Dave Seng wrote:

> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: wanewman_at_uswest.net [mailto:wanewman_at_uswest.net]
> >
> > Shock loading is the key and I am a strong proponant of
> > having a bungie cord on
> > the end of tow line especially if you are going light on you
> > line diameter.  To
> > answer the question do I want the tow line to snap while
> > towing my friend in
> > rough conditions?  If  keeping the tow in place is going to
> > pull on my body or
> > the rear deck ofmy kayak with hundreds of pounds of force I
> > would pray for the
> > line to part before the back of my British heavy gets ripped open.
>
>   While I agree with almost everything wanewman wrote, let's not forget the
> importance of having a good quick-release in _any_ towing system.  There's
> no way I would ever want my body ripped forcibly from my kayak (belt tow
> system) because the strength of my tow line was too high ----- I want to
> always be able to decide to abort the tow at any time because of perceived
> danger (the relationship between real and perceived danger is another thread
> in and of itself and has been flogged around several times in the list).  I
> wouldn't want to rely on the fact that _the system_ would fail before the
> tow-er was put into a dangerous or position.
>   I think that we're really all in agreement on this issue, but I just
> wanted to stress the quick release concept in case someone fairly new to the
> sport or the idea of towing hooks into this thread.
>
> Dave Seng
> Juneau, Alaska
> (heading for Anchorage and snow for a few days)
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