A few days a friend had a problem which convinced me that *my* spare paddle should be placed on the foredeck, and not behind me where I've placed it until now. We were practicing different kinds of towing and rescues in relatively light conditions, and his tow line got tangled in his spare paddle, which was under bungies on his rear deck. He couldn't deploy the line for a tow, and he couldn't release the line either. There was very little slack in the line between his waist and the tangle. Had he capsized, he could easily have been trapped in the boat. So - despite the asthetics and the slight interference with sliding a chart under the front bungies (that still works, the chart case just doesn't lie as flat), I've rigged my foredeck to hold my spare paddle. I think there's much less chance of lines getting tangled on the foredeck. The paddle is also easier for me to reach for a half-paddle roll, or to assemble the spare if I have time to do that. On another occasion this same friend has had a tow line get tangled around the (fixed) handle of his chimp pump. That's another story. If I had a chimp pump I think I'd want it on the foredeck, and I think I'd want one with a handle which is not usually mounted on the pump, but is tethered to the deck right near the pump. Bill Hansen Ithaca NY *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced 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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