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From: Doug Lloyd <dougl_at_islandnet.com> subject: [Paddlewise] Sea Seat, looking for or pattern to make this device Date: Thu, 12 Sep 2002 23:08:14 -0700 · This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Thu Aug 21 2025 - 16:33:31 PDT

Scott,

Derek was a friend of mine. I picked up another SeaSeat just before he
passed away, joking to him I'd better get one more from him before he
kicked the bucket. Boy, did I feel bad when he passed away the next
weekend. He had 70 left. I'm not sure if anyone is taking over the store
when the estate settles.

I think you had said:

<<<If what I was told is true, the owner Derek Bamforth, has passed
away, and Pacific Canoe Base is no longer in business.  I called other
outdoor stores in Victoria and was told this sad news.
Questions for sea seat type device
Kayaking:
Example:  Somehow I went over my skill level while kayaking, perhaps
weather became worse than forecasted on a several mile crossing. I
became either became separated from my kayak or was in the water too
long, Lake Superior, in rough conditions, in a dry suit. With the type
III lifejacket, waves were breaking over my head, immersing my head in
water, and I was becoming exhausted. I became concerned with  drowning
as a type III lifejacket does not provide sufficient protection from
swallowing/breathing water from breaking waves and winds and waves.  I
would like a backup, ex. sea seat; however, I would prefer to have a way
to attach myself to this device (the exhaustion principle, I could fall
off if exhausted and unattached).>>>

The device has a lanyard, but no other way of attaching yourself. The
depression or hollow in the middle provides purchase for your bum. The
lack of handles and self inflation was perhaps one reason the device
didn't do too well as far as sales. It does keep you out of the water
though, save for your footsies.

A small inflatable life raft, compact and light weight, would be a cool
option for boaters to have as a backup, but neither Matt Broze or others
who have looked in to it, have been able to find anything appropriate
for paddlers. I carry my SeaSeat as a backup for boat loss (a
boat-to-person tether takes care of that issue usually), as a way of
emergency support should I become ill, as a much more buoyant outrigger
than the Paddlefloat (should the need come up), as an excellent tow
platform for a swimmer (way better than the rear-deck carry), as a
signal device (big yellow cushion), as something to offer a panicking
swimmer who is in distress of drowning, and as a way to get back in my
kayak (worked for me as reported in Sea Kayaker Magazine a few years
ago, in some very rough seas). It also works well as a way of emptying
your cockpit of water as it gives plenty of buoyancy for "TX" solo
rescues, etc. I can get the water out of my cockpit, with the boat
upside-down, by using my paddle and pushing down on the blade as I lift
the bow. Better yet, the paddlefloat attached works even faster and with
greater leverage in rough seas with more buoyancy; then there is the Sea
Seat giving me the ultimate lift if needed in terms of significant
buoyancy.

<<<Canoe:  How could I use this device to do a solo canoe rescue?  It
was mentioned in one of the articles.  I sometimes solo canoe on lakes
(NO whitewater with me) in the Boundary Waters Canoe Wilderness Area in
Northern Minnesota, U.S.A.  Like a safety belt in a automobile, I hope
to never use it. I am quite well aware of having good bracing skills,
different rescue
(self and group) skills, and a reliable eskimo roll on both sides.>>>

By sitting on the SeaSeat, you can manipulate the bow or stern of a
canoe, breaking the surface tension and the emptying the water. I think
I have some old training footage of this maneuver somewhere around. I
carry the two SeaSeats when we go family canoeing on the cold saltchuck
here. They are also a way of getting our two young girls out of the
water, as they would succumb to hypothermia more rapidly than their
pudgy parents.

Kevin said:

<<<I have never seen a sea seat, except for the illustration in the Wave
Length article. I have no idea how many breaths would be needed, what
the cost, practicality or much else either, but it looks an awful lot
like one of those personal floatation, inner tube like things fisherman
use. I know they sit you in the water from the waist down but since the
sea seat doesn't look to be available, might this be a direction to go?
Just from casual observation I would think you'd need a lot more than 60
breaths.
>>>
It takes three minutes with average breathing to inflate. It is actually
easier to board and maintain stability on if it is under inflated. Two
minutes is enough. I've never counted the number of breaths. I do find,
having used it in extremis, that after one minute, it is very difficult
to keep one's lips pursed in cold water and continue to blow. There were
many complaints against the SeaSeat over the years, including the fact
that the sea, if inflated, caused drag with respect to forward progress
in your kayak (if inflated and trailing behind your kayak) due to
surface tension. I've never worried about that, because the sea state
where I'm likely to use the device or pre-inflate for other reasons,
would not be flat-water, surface tension inducing conditions -- if ya
know what I mean. Also, inflation time ain't a problem when your life is
possibly on the line. I did play around with air canisters, but found
they combined with ocean water to freeze one's fingers when inflating
the device this way, as a way of avoiding manual inflation.

Kayakers should ask themselves what are THEY going to do if they suffer
boat loss at an inopportune time. Good pilots ask themselves "what-if"
questions all the time. I have my answer. As long as others have theirs.

Well, there are always sponsons...and you could carry a second pair with
the harness pre-attatched to your body, as a backup buoyancy aid :-)

Doug Lloyd

Kevin

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