[Paddlewise] Eskimo Rolling Wide Boats

	All,   

	Do any Klepper or Feathercraft owners roll their boats?  I mean in real
conditions, not as a 'circus trick' as Ralph Diaz so aptly describes it.
	By real conditions, I mean in the sort of sea/swell/wind /surf mix which
would put you upside down in one of these boats?
	This issue is of importance to me, as the owner of a single Klepper who is
constantly asked about rolling the thing by my glass/plastic boat owning
friends.
	My reply to them is why would I want to roll a boat which by reason of its
air sponsons is difficult to roll in ideal conditions, and in fact the
whole notion is contrary to the design of the boat.
	And  how are you going to hang upside down in a Klepper, without
dangerously compromising your ability to safely and efficiently wet exit. I
just do not think you can fit out the Klepper's large and wide cockpit
without going to ludicrous measures. 
	All this, however, places even a greater onus on owners of boats like mine
to religiously practice self rescue techniques other than rolling.  And
because I paddle mostly in open sea,  this means practice in realistically
rough conditions.
	It seems to me, that rolling is something which my friends constantly
obsess about; and I guess if I owned a boat which allowed me to hang upside
down in force four [ or worse ] conditions while  I set up for a roll, I
would practice the same technique.
	At this end of the world [ Australia ], there is such an emphasis on
rolling ability that it has now become a dictum that if you don't roll, you
aren't really a seakayaker. This I think comes from the mind set of really
expert kayakers who can roll up if they are trashed on a surf exit or
entry,  which is where most of us come unstuck.
	We recently had a 'club incident' in which a number of kayakers found
themselves floundering around tipped out of their boats [ all glass or
plastic ] in worsening wind and sea conditions about a kilometre off a
rocky lee  shore, and unable to self rescue.
	In other words they needed other kayakers/ or rescuers from shore to help
them get upright and/or out of danger.
Some of these folks had probably practiced rolling,  but when they
encountered a suprise capsize, which is quite a different kettle of fish to
a controlled set up roll in flat calm,  they failed to rescue themselves.
	Again, it is my observation, that if you are going to rely on a roll as
the primary  self rescue technique, then this should incorporate a re-entry
upside down, and roll up.  And how many of us can do that, or practice this?
	Any thoughts, folks, particularly from the good 'ol folding boat community?
	Peter Rattenbury
	
	







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