My ACA instructors didn't bring up contact tows at all (Open water coastal kayaking instructor course) however I did have a rig on deck and I used it in the exercises. I have found if you run the rig under deck lines on both boats you cannot capsize to the inside or the outside, thus it is OK to lash the two boats together without quick release. Has anyone found this to not be true, assuming the length of the tow rig matches the width of the two boats? Brian Blankinship *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
"Jed" <jluby_at_teamnorthatlantic.com> wrote: >Conventional wisdom call for towing gear to be quickly releasable and >shock absorbent. Contact tows seem to be neither. How about a 4' "cow tail" on your tow belt. Nothing more than a 4' piece of tubular webbing with 2' of bungie inside. Stowed, it's 2' long, stretched - 4'. Here's my take on the idea: http://www.geocities.com/shawnkayak/tow/ "Sid Stone" <SNStone_at_aol.com> wrote: > A contact tow does not imply the need to "strap" the boats together. >You can, and it sometimes help, use a paddle park (two carabiners >connected by a length of line equal to twice the length of the >deck), to connect the two kayaks. Releasing simply involves undoing one >carabiner. But doing so is "strapping" the boats together--you don't have a quick release. Wasn't there an SK article showing a contact tow setup with webbing and a side-release buckle in the middle and 'biners on both ends? If the side-release were an accessible distance from the tower, it would probably be an adequate quick release. Safe paddling, Shawn Yahoo! Sports - live college hoops coverage http://sports.yahoo.com/ *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
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