I'm seeking ideas on how to outfit my Romany for emergency towing. I would like to minimize any hardware on the back deck and want it to be durable, user-friendly and elegant. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Marty Waterbury, VT gildea_at_together.net *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
Marty/Diane... wear a tow-belt rather than something that attaches to your deck. If you should get capsized, it would be so much easier to disconnect a fast-relief belt. There are several models to choose from. I recently bought a belt from Nigel Dennis, the maker of your Romany. The rope fits into a pouch attached to a quick release belt. The beauty of this system is that you can also shorten the rope with a daisy-chain so that you can hook up and tow in close, or after hooking up, release the daisy-chain to allow for a long tow if conditions require. The more the surge, or the more people towing (Multiple tow) you have, the farther you need to be from the towee. Robert > From: Marty & Diane Gildea <gildea_at_together.net> > wrote: [Paddlewise] Outfitting an NDK Romany 18' for towing > > I'm seeking ideas on how to outfit my Romany for emergency towing. I would > like to minimize any hardware on the back deck and want it to be durable, > user-friendly and elegant. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. > *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
Hi Marty and All, I'm sure you'll get lots of opinions on this one and clearly there is no one best solution. My personal preference is a tow system that is an integral part of my p.f.d. There are several models to choose from such as the Kokatat Pro-Fit, the Lotus Lola-Pro, Rio-Pro or Strait Jacket. I prefer this system to a boat mounted system for a number of reasons. It allows me to maintain good directional control of my boat. It keeps the tow-line up and out of the way so that it doesn't snag on deck clutter such as a spare paddle or foul on the stern. It is extremely frustrating to have a tow-line fouled on some part of your stern deck. I also like having the quick release right there in front of me. I find this more convenient that reaching around to fiddle with something on the stern deck. If you do decide to go with a p.f.d. based system I would suggest you look at the Kokatat tow line. The line winds up on a card which makes it very easy to vary the length as well as stow after use. This system can be used with either the Lotus or Kokatat p.f.d's. (I think they changed the attaching fastex tri-glide on their production models, they did on the proto-type I was playing with.) The Lotus Sea-Tow is ok but is much harder to stow when you are finished, the Kokatat also attaches snugly to your vest while the Lotus flops around. Whatever system you end up with make sure you have plenty of length available in the tow-line. I like to have 50'. In order to achieve this I sometimes carry a small diameter extension that I can clip on to my regular line if I need the extra length. For short tows or calm conditions you will not need this much length but if you ever tow in big conditions you will definitely appreciate the extra length. Disclaimer- I Don't work for either Lotus or Kokatat but I do know the folks at both locations and have at various times tested gear and offered feedback. I would have to say that I am probably slightly biased because I like the folks at these companies. That aside I still prefer towing from the p.f.d. Cheers, -- Rob Cookson 3 Hats Design INTERNET PRINT ILLUSTRATION 5201 15 Ave NW Suite 220 Seattle, WA 98107 206.851.8202 direct line 206.784.1641 main office phone 206.784.2231 main office fax mailto:rob_at_3hats.com http://www.3hats.com > -----Original Message----- > From: owner-paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net > [mailto:owner-paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net]On Behalf Of Marty & Diane > Gildea > Sent: Thursday, March 16, 2000 9:48 PM > To: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net > Subject: [Paddlewise] Outfitting an NDK Romany 18' for towing > > > I'm seeking ideas on how to outfit my Romany for emergency > towing. I would > like to minimize any hardware on the back deck and want it to be durable, > user-friendly and elegant. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. > > > Marty > Waterbury, VT > gildea_at_together.net > > > ****************************************************************** > ********* > 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/ > ****************************************************************** > ********* *************************************************************************** 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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