Roger Voeller wrote: > don't really weigh that much extra, nor do they seem to expand in volume > enough to worry about getting back into even a tight cockpit. In March this > year, one guy was in a really small cockpit British boat and spent about ten > minutes in the water before we could help him get back in. He was wearing a > good drysuit and his Chotas. His feet got wet, but getting him back into his > boat was not a problem and the insulation on his feet gradually warmed back > up. You probably can't get all that much water into boots. But imagine how much you can get into a pair of paddling pants even ones with just neoprene ankle cuffs. I don't have to imagine this because I witnessed this years ago. A fellow was wearing a pair of such pants and capsized. We had a devil of a time helping him lift himself into the boat. When we landed a few miles later, he went to open up the velcroed neoprene ankle closure and half the ocean poured out. I would suggest that if you are rescuing someone who is wearing paddling pants that you have them open up the seals before trying the re-entry (nothing much can be done for latex ankle gaskets on a pair of dry pants). There have also been cased of a paddler wearing a paddling jacket of getting so much water into the sleeves that it was difficult to lift their arms. It would pour down into the body area but the PFD inhibited or slowed that flow. ralph diaz -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Ralph Diaz . . . Folding Kayaker newsletter PO Box 0754, New York, NY 10024 Tel: 212-724-5069; E-mail: rdiaz_at_ix.netcom.com "Where's your sea kayak?"----"It's in the bag." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Thu Aug 21 2025 - 16:33:19 PDT