From: <Gypsykayak_at_aol.com> > If I understand you correctly....yer saying that sponsons aren't that much > good!? I'm saying that they aren't all that Timmy-boy claims they are. Given his claims, that's not saying much. Like all rescue equipment, they have pros and cons. Unca Timmy exaggerates the pros and ignores or bluffs away the cons. This is a disservice to his customers and to the product, but he doesn't seem to see it that way. Like all reentry techniques, they require practice and without practice, they can be difficult to use. For example, one test I tried was to simulate a panicky paddler who grabs the sponsoned kayak and tries to muscle his way aboard. This caused the kayak to flip rather quickly. Like the paddle float rescue or assisted rescues, you have to thrust yourself onto the kayak and keep your center of gravity low while wiggling around. Sponsons do work but they aren't magic. They have a place in the kayak and canoe world as a piece of safety equipment. They are not a panacea. > BTW, Mike, you certainly are a brave one to open this never-ending can of > worms. Maybe foolish. I'm just belatedly applying numbers to the thing to get a better feel for how they work. If my ideas are correct, I can understand how they can appear to work wonders (like allowing someone to stand in a sponsoned kayak) while they don't allow me to get in panic-style. Mike *************************************************************************** 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 Thu Dec 27 2001 - 09:05:36 PST
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