Re: [Paddlewise] PaddleWise Double Kayaks

Some observations on Doubles;

They are fast, due to hull speed and summing the power of two people.
I'm most familiar with glass doubles over 20'. Doubles can carry 10+
days of food water and gear.  The bow paddler can fly a kite, or put
split paddles inside a 50gal 6-mil trash bag to make a hasty sail. If a
paddler gets sick/injured, another person can paddle them in the front
of a double for many miles.  They are fairly stable, can handle seas,
but you can dump them. It's only happened to me once.

This is probably one of the more interesting times I've had in a
double:  One winter there were  a series of fronts with lots of rough
weather and wind in Mexico, so we were paddling in rough seas on an
almost daily basis to make miles down the coast.  One day  we were in
6-8 ft. seas with wind building, and sets of 2-3 10-12ft waves coming in
at about 3 minutes.  These were shorter wind waves, versus long
developed swells. We made it around a rocky point and started cutting
over to a beach, when a 12 foot curling  boomer caught us in  about 15
ft of water.  My partner was not a roller, so we had to exit.  We got
the front cockpit bailed, she jumped in, put the skirt on and paddled
the kayak into the seas while I bailed the back cockpit and hopped in. 
We then kept paddling around the point and surfed in to a sand beach. 
We agreed that we would not likely have practiced rescues in such
realistic conditions-not to mention with a loaded boat.
Being dressed for the water temps helped.  

Paddle leashes can help to restrain the paddles until needed.  A double
needs two pumps.  In big following seas and surf, the rudder may be out
of the water much of the time.  The stern paddler should be able to use 
forceful stern  draws, prys, and rudder strokes to keep the kayak from
broaching.  A double on a surf is quite a rush.  With a loaded double,
bracing skills are helpful in rough water. 

The cockpits on a double, even with a center hatch, can hold a lot of
water.  A beach landing can fill the cockpits fast when you jump out. 
Likewise, when launching unassisted in waves, the stern paddler must
switch quickly from pushing off to hopping in and paddling with skirt
fastened.

I don't have any  credentials in human relations to relate to the
"getting along" dimension  of tandem paddling-and worse yet, I'm a
guy.   Most of the experiences in doubles have been very positive, and
synergistic- the whole was greater than the sum of the parts. When you
are on an extended trip in a wild place with a partner in a double, you 
soon appreciate how dependent you are on each other for survival, and
beyond that, how working as a team can really enhance the experience of
tripping together.    

Regards,
Jay
Alma,CO

***************************************************************************
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/
***************************************************************************