<<The Coast Guard's level flotation requirements (that canoes and kayaks are currently exempt from) specify enough fixed solid flotation material (like foam----inflatable bladders and even bulkheads won't pass muster) to allow a swamped boat to remain level and to float the number of people listed as the boats required capacity label. I hate to tell you this Alv, but you would have real trouble referring to them as "Pakboats" any longer under the level flotation rules you want to saddle us all with. Matt Broze>> I am sorry I gave a somewhat misleading impression in my earlier post. It makes no sense to use the same set of regulations for kayaks that are in effect for powerboats. And you're right. My Pakboats do not have enough flotation to keep the occupants above water while the boat is swamped. But they do have enough flotation to serve as an effective flotation aid for somebody swimming. And I think that is a more relevant measure of how much flotation is needed in a recreational kayak. Placing such flotation high in the sides makes sense because it will help stabilize a boat that is taking in water (may be because the paddler is not using a skirt - which is quite common in recreational boats). I did not propose requiring built-in flotation in sea kayaks for several reasons: - The paddlers are generally much better informed and do add flotation. - Many designs do not easily accommodate foam flotation. - Sea kayaks are used for touring, and properly packed gear add a lot of flotation. None of the above reasons are compelling when applied to recreational boats. Alv Elvestad *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Thu Aug 21 2025 - 16:33:29 PDT