Marvin: Anything at all can open a can of worms on this list. Jump right in and grab a handful. "Paddle tethers... Are they good or bad?" It's useful to tether your paddle to the boat when the wind gets up. If you come out of the boat, and can retain hold of either the paddle or the boat, you still have both. If not tethered, the boat can blow downwind faster than you can swim after it. Also useful when performing rescues, or just rafting up to borrow some more palatable food than you brought along yourself. You just throw the paddle aside, and you know you still have it. "Do you consider them essential?" Not quite essential, but good to have. "Do they attach the paddle to you or the boat?" One type I've used tethers to the boat. I prefer this. I've tried another type, a short bungy from the paddle to the wrist shown in some of Derek Hutchinson's Testaments. I find these chafe while paddling, and they don't have the chief advantage of joining boat to paddle in wind. "How long is the tether?" Anchored on the front deck, long enough so that you can extend the paddle fully for a Pawlata roll, full sweep etc. So about 3' - 4'. For normal forward paddling, this leaves some in the way, but excess can be tucked under a deck bungy. "Just straight rope, or some kind of springy/contracting line?" 5 or 6 mm bungy works well, and doesn't bang on the deck while paddling like coiled surfboard or boogy board tethers do. You can attach it to the middle of the paddle with an olive cleat, or velcro wrap. The other end gets a snaplink or closed hook, or just a knot. The chief reservation with paddle tethers is whether you are at risk of underwater entanglement in the event of a capsize in surf. Some say never deploy the paddle tether in surf, others here use them whenever they are on the water, in surf and out, thinking that the loss of a paddle in surf is more of a problem than entanglement. Short surf skis, sit on tops, here are normally fitted with a paddle leash, and the beaches are not stacked deep in drowned goat-boaters lashed to their surf skis. PT 37°42'S 145°08'E *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************Received on Tue Mar 27 2001 - 13:49:17 PST
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