Re: [Paddlewise] Tow a container - was The Old Man and the Bicycle

Robert,

Thanks for sharing these experiences with us.  I was just the kind of input 
I had hoped to get.

I'm thinking know that if i build a small kayak for kids to use, it might 
have an after-life, once it's outgrown, as a towed storage barge.

Bill


At 11:13 PM 3/13/2003 -0800, Robert Livingston & Pam Martin wrote:
> > Has anyone had experience towing a storage container with their
> > kayak?  Please contribute details like container shape, size, weight, towed
> > distance, problems, sea conditions, etc.
>
>For about 11 years I would go on 1 week trips towing a single kayak behind a
>double. I had the entire family in the double (Wife plus two kids). We
>carried extra gear in the double. This was all off the west coast of
>Vancouver Island.
>
>The first time, I towed a Keeowee kayak which was a little plastic thing. It
>is a little short kayak that is quite wide. It worked OK but one reason I
>wanted to bring a single was for short trips after we got to a destination
>and the Keeowee was not good for any distance.
>
>One problem that I had one day was in big waves from the stern the kayak
>surfed into the back of the double and bent a rudder. Solution was just to
>lengthen the tow rope.
>
>I was paddling with friends with their own kids who were more frugal with
>their gear and more comfortable paddling with things in their lap so they
>did not tow anything. I would tend to fall behind but not that much. Another
>problem was that they would grab the kayak being towed and I would find that
>I was towing more than just my own "dingy"
>
>But as I pulled the little Keeowee I wondered whether it was actually
>slowing me down a little because it was being towed so close to its hull
>speed. So I started towing a Mariner kayak (first version). That worked
>well. I had been concerned about the kayak capsizing but that never happened
>in all those years with some time in pretty rough conditions. I made a tight
>cockpit cover that would have survived a capsize. I was careful to put the
>heaviest stuff low in the kayak and in general a loaded kayak without a
>person inside is pretty stable. I found that I had to load it stern heavy (a
>lot) so that it would not snake back and forth when paddling. In bad
>conditions, it would surf but I towed it far behind the kayak. When it
>surfed it might curve off course and then get dragged abruptly back into
>course so I used a fairly stretchy tow line so mitigate the jerk.
>
>With the kayak behind me, I would tend to just forget it. But I did remember
>not to play in rock gardens which I was not inclined to do much with my
>family anyway. (When I forgot, my wife in the front of the kayak would
>remind me)
>
>We lost the kayak once because of the hook disengaging. I paddled for quite
>a distance before I realized it which is testimony to the "feel" of paddling
>a fully loaded double with 4 people in it.
>
>And I had a quick release mechanism if ever had to disengage.
>
>Now, happily, my kids are old enough to paddle their own kayaks. (Happened
>when the youngest was 10)
>
>Paddling in the back of a double is almost a different sport and not one
>that I like as much as using a single. Towing the single gave me the ability
>to do little trips in a kayak that I liked after we reached our destination.
>
>And packing was easy.
  
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