Re: [Paddlewise] leashes

John Fereira <jaf30_at_cornell.edu> wrote:
<SNIP>>>>>There are two risks that I can think of using a paddle leash in a
sea
kayak. The first in the surf zone where a windmilling paddle could inflict
some serious injuries as you're tumbling in the surf.<<<<<<SNIP>

The paddle is a small risk in surf especially if using a helmet. The kayak
itself is a far bigger risk especially if the surf is big enough to tumble
or take the kayak out of your grasp. Never let your self get down wave of a
swamped kayak in surf. The risk with a leash (in both surf and whitewater)
is that the kayak will tumble in the soup or a sousehole and the leash will
be wrapped tightly around the kayak possibly pinning you in the cockpit or
tying you to the kayak as you are trying to exit. The later happened to
Joanne Turner years ago. When she tried to exit her kayak upon capsizing
during a surf exit the leash strapped her thigh tightly to the kayak and she
and her kayak washed into shore tied together. This was a nylon parachute
cord leash if I remember correctly. My favorite leash is a 3' to 4' long
length of 3/16" shock cord tied to the paddle with a bowline and with a
nylon hook on the free end to easily clip it into some deck lines in front
of the cockpit. The shock coed is rolled up around the paddle shaft when I'm
not using it (and clipped to itself to hold it in place in the middle of my
paddle shaft). That way it is always available and easy to attach to the
boat in a few seconds. I also don't see much utility in a wrist leash since
the paddle and the kayak are used together and I think they should stay
together (so you don't have to choose one or the other if you let go of one
of them). If you can manage to hang on to one of them you should still have
the other as well.
One of the reasons I've settled on shock cord is that the leash can be much
shorter so it doesn't drag in the water, tangle with deck fittings, or
tangle with itself (as the phone cord style often seem to do) and stretch
easily if a little more length is needed say for rolling a bracing (I never
notice I stretch it so like my shock cord leash on the short side (about 2'
of unstretched leash when the knots are tied to the shaft and clip. It might
make it easier to get yourself freed if you ended up like Joanne (or Ahab).
Of course it could still stretch out fully and be just like a cord in that
situation so always remove it for any conditions that could "windowshade"
your kayak (such as surf or hydraulics in current). Another nice feature is
that it can be easily made with about $1.50 in materials. It is very
lightweight compared to coiled types and doesn't go clack, clack, clack on
your deck with each stroke as most of the coiled leashes I've tried do. I
tie it tight enough to the paddle so that it doesn't slide around on the
shaft (without me pushing it to a new position) and I can also even direct
the angle of the cord as it leaves the paddle shaft to help keep the leash
from slapping or snagging on the deck. Use a figure 8 knot for a stopper
knot on the shock cord clip. A simple knot in shock cord will pull through
itself when the cord is strongly stretched.
Matt Broze
http://www.marinerkayaks.com
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