RE: [Paddlewise] Safety--my bad rescue practice experience.

I was involved in the production of a device called the Signal Buoy, a 6
foot, 8" diameter self inflating tube used by divers to signal the boat in a
rescue situation. Making a self inflating paddle float would bring the price
well over $100. Then there is the additional maintenance required to keep
the self inflator working and free of corrosion. Large CO2 cartridges are
not cheap either.

I doubt one could sell enough to make it a viable proposition. 

cya 

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-paddlewise_at_paddlewise.net
[mailto:owner-paddlewise_at_paddlewise.net]On Behalf Of Wes Boyd
Sent: Thursday, September 07, 2000 9:01 AM
To: Matt Broze; Paddlewise
Subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Safety--my bad rescue practice experience.


At 10:21 PM 9/6/00 -0700, Matt Broze wrote:

>Perhaps this may have been the time to take off that PFD (we all wear) and
>try to fasten it securely to your paddle blade to serve as an emergency
>paddle float. For me this is a last resort if no other flotation device is
 (much snipped)

This actually opens the door to a question that's come up around the
campfire once or twice, and maybe it's worth asking:

Why doesn't someone come up with a paddle float with a CO2 cartidge
inflater, like on an inflatable PFD?  It seems to me that in cold water the
quicker that you can get rigged for the paddle float rescue, the better off
you are, no matter what the immersion protection. If you could just bag the
thing over the end of the paddle and yank the ripcord, it would be a
savings of perhaps several minutes over inflating and rigging.

-- Wes


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