Using air flotation bags is normal for all those who have skin of frame boats. They don't have bulkheads. I've been paddling skin boats for many years in all types of conditions with no problem. Training, rolling and messing around the boats have been filled with water many times. No problem getting the water out. There are many types of flotation bags on the market. Several are made to seal after putting your gear into the bags for storage so water between bags in not a problem. When building a skin boat I put pulleys into the bow and stern so the bags can be pulled in and out like clothes on a clothesline. They don't come out unless you want them out. There are rules for calculating the flotation required. Generally the use of two bags bow and stern of about two cubic feet each will give you more than enough buoyancy. Keep in mind that most skin boats a very light. If made of a wood frame they float without bags. My 18' baidarka weighs 29 pounds so I have more than enough floatation with the bags mentioned above. Bill Low Bill Low *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
Don't forget that float bags are not there simply to keep the boat from sinking. They should float the boat with the paddler in it. In this case it really does not matter what the boat weighs. The weight of the boat is a minor part of the equation, even a heavy fiberglass boat is fairly close to neutrally buoyant without any float bags. A wooden boat will be only slightly positively buoyant. The float bags should serve to float the paddler not just the boat. While it is a good thing to keep the boat from sinking, it is not much use if the paddler can't get in and start pumping it dry and the less pumping required the better. At 8:50 AM -0500 1/16/01, Bill Low wrote: ><snip> >When building a skin boat I put pulleys into the bow and stern so the bags can >be pulled in and out like clothes on a clothesline. They don't come out unless >you want them out. There are rules for calculating the flotation required. >Generally the use of two bags bow and stern of about two cubic feet each will >give you more than enough buoyancy. Keep in mind that most skin boats a very >light. If made of a wood frame they float without bags. My 18' baidarka weighs >29 pounds so I have more than enough floatation with the bags mentioned above. > *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
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