"Shawn W. Baker" wrote: > > Okay, I'll hedge my ignorance of Z-drags to say that I know at least > that the Z-drag is for removing a pinned boat from a sweeper, rock, or > snag, but that's about the extent of it. Anybody have a good link to a > website showing a Z-drag, or the ability to explain it in words? I tried to find one before, since I knew someone would ask :) Didn't find anything useful then, but I did these this morning: http://www.jps.net/lon/river_rescue/river_rescue.html#technical and also http://www.basarc.org/papers/roperescue/mechanical_advantage.html The first page has an animated drawing of how to tie a prusik loop. The second tells more about z-drags than most sea kayakers need to know. Actually, I've been trying to think of why a SK paddler would ever use a z-drag. The only thing I can come up with is to raise a heavy load (boat, injured paddler) up a cliff in an emergency exit. Steve *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced/forwarded outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
On Wed, 19 Jul 2000, Steve Cramer wrote: > Actually, I've been trying to think of why a SK paddler would ever use a > z-drag. The only thing I can come up with is to raise a heavy load > (boat, injured paddler) up a cliff in an emergency exit. Me too... The best things I've come up with are rather silly. 1. Uprooting two trees 2. Bending over one tree (a sapling), and priming the top with projectiles to be catapulted at jetskiers. Other than that, I suppose it is possible to wrap a sea kayak on a rock if there are significant tidal currents. If the paddler was trapped in the boat (unlikely with the normal voluminous cockpits), and IF the boat was close enough to shore, then a Z-drag could be very handy. If the paddler wasn't trapped, then a z-drag is superflous since all you have to do is wait for the current to slack or change. Something else comes to mind, which is that plenty of sea kayakers paddle their boats on larger, flatter rivers. Just because the river is class I, it doesn't mean that there isn't significant potential to get wrapped around a rock or a log. All it takes for that is a combination of current and ignorance/carelessnes. Kevin *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced/forwarded outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Kevin Whilden wrote: > > On Wed, 19 Jul 2000, Steve Cramer wrote: > > Actually, I've been trying to think of why a SK paddler would ever use a > > z-drag. > Me too... <snip> > Other than that, I suppose it is possible to wrap a sea kayak on a rock if > there are significant tidal currents. ... > > Something else comes to mind, which is that plenty of sea kayakers paddle their > boats on larger, flatter rivers. Good point. I wasn't thinking about rivers. I guess my original comment should have been sea paddlers, not sea kayak paddlers. As to wrapping a kayak on a rock in a tidal current, yeah, could be. Like Archimedes, all you need is a z-drag and a place to stand. The latter my be hard to come by, though. Steve *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced/forwarded outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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