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

----- Original Message -----
Wes Boyd" <boydwe_at_dmci.net> wrote:
>
> 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.
>
Actually I did experiment with this and had a prototype made years ago. You
would save less than a minute.
The problems:
1) high cost initially, probably over $100
2) high cost to use and practice with, large CO2 cartridges are not cheap
(the Back UP cartridge is $10 for each use).
3)Safety--imagine you have the paddle float device manually inflated and
then accidentally release the CO2. Well, I tested this with a small CO2
cartridge and a full float. I pulled the rip cord and threw it to the other
side of my car. It didn't burst as I feared it might but every time I
touched it for the next week or so it rang like a bell it was so highly
pressurized. A bigger cartridge might make it into a small bomb if it didn't
have a pressure relief valve al$o installed.

The BACK UP uses a CO2 cartridge and it is even a better device than you
described. No need to exit the kayak or put it on the paddle, just pull the
rip-cord and use it to right yourself. No pumping out required either.
almost as good as a roll. I carried the BACK UP in my store and liked it,
but the $129 (introductory price) and the $10 cartridge costs made it a very
slow seller.

A paddle float (inflated or foam) can be kept under some bungies on the back
deck and used much like a BACK UP to right oneself, however it is bulkier to
store that way and adds windage. It is far cheaper though.

Matt Broze
http://www.marinerkayaks.com



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