Re: [Paddlewise] Safer boats

Somebody wrote:

> >If it is not possible to teach the casual paddler how to be safe,
> maybe
> something should be done to make the boats themselves safer.
> 

It's a well known fact that the safer the equipment, the more risks the
user will take. This is proven with the use of seatbelts, airbags and
ABS in cars. To make a boat safer, you'll have to find other solutions.
I got some ideas:

- Make the seat so uncomfortable that nobody wants to paddle the boat
more then 50 meters offshore (Ooops... This is standard in composite
boats)
- Make a SOT with seats on both upper AND downside of the boat.
- Let me drill holes in the hull, so it will sink after 50 meters,
whatever you do.
- Sell rodeo boats as seakayaks. By the time someone can paddle it in a
straight line, he's had time enough to be educated.
- Include 50 pounds of FREE Canadian Ballast Rocks in every kayak sale.
The buyer will probably say "Gee, thanks, that's a bargain". The first
times he goes out, carrying the rocks will wear him out before he starts
paddling, making him ready for a nice, very short trip. By the time he
discovers that the rocks weren't that nice a gift after all, he's had
time to get some experience.
- Warn a new owner that the inside of the kayak is NOT waterproof. When
any water enters the cockpit, the hull will dissolve inside out in a
matter of minutes.
- Don't include a paddle in the sale. Sell them seperately on specific
request.
- Tell them a PFD is a Personal Fashion Device: It looks cool, but will
sink like a brick.
- Sell sponsons as a new, revolutionary kind of paddle. Explain how to
put one in each hand, then kind of "walk" on your hands across the
water.

Did I make my point, or any point at all?

Niels.
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