In a message dated 2/5/2004 5:07:19 PM Central Standard Time, garygibbs_at_ameritech.net writes: > Ridiculous, or useful? What unforeseen problems could you solve if only > you > were *granted* 5 minutes of air: sandal strap caught... PFD strap jammed > somewhere... kayaking buddy having difficulty getting lined up for a bow > rescue? Divers will strongly suggest the severe damage that can occur by holding your breath with compressed air. Sea Kayaker had a review a while back of compressed air units for kayakers seeking a little more time underwater than the standard half gasp prior to full immersion usually allows. I used at one time a snorkel tube with a closed cell stand of sorts that fit under the thighs. But that arrangement seemed only meant for training and might be a pain to keep in the cockpit full time. A modification can easily be made to make it more permanent by someone handy with customizing. I saw a beautiful cedar strip boat that used a standard outtake hole cover for mounting a water bag in the day hatch and running the hose and bite valve up the rear deck. Nicely done. I may want to do something like that for my boat. It seems a person intent on making a bite valve type snorkel can make a permanent installation be unobtrusive. I can see problems finding a hose in thrashing water unless it were right there on your pfd. Double skirted drytops and drysuits may also make the hose difficult to find an outlet through the spray deck. The hose attempting to util ize cockpit air could take in water forcing one to clear it prior to inhaling; not something I'd be happy to do. Also, the hose could dislodge and draw water from a pool in the cockpit causing more trouble than taste alone. A 96 ounce platypus mounted behind the seat with the bite valve coming out someplace easily accessible might be a possible solution for at least a couple breaths. But still, its up to the victim to make it happen with a roll. Rob G It is an interesting idea *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
On 5 Feb 2004 at 19:11, Rcgibbert_at_aol.com wrote: > In a message dated 2/5/2004 5:07:19 PM Central Standard Time, > garygibbs_at_ameritech.net writes: > > > > Ridiculous, or useful? What unforeseen problems could you solve if > > only you were *granted* 5 minutes of air: sandal strap caught... > > PFD strap jammed somewhere... kayaking buddy having difficulty > > getting lined up for a bow rescue? > > Divers will strongly suggest the severe damage that can occur by > holding your breath with compressed air. True if you hold your breath from depth, but the depths at which your head would be while suspended in a kayak shouldn't be a problem. Still a good idea to exhale. > I can see problems finding a hose in thrashing water unless it were > right there on your pfd. I tried a different approach, but only in the pool. I pulled the skirt and bent over until my head was inside the kayak. You need a high foredeck (I practiced in my Solstice GTHV) and a keyhole cockpit. You also need _really_ good flexibility. I was straining to get into position, but once there, I was sorta ok. The technique is minimally useful. In that position, I could hardly move my diaphram to breathe. Maybe if you're really skinny and practice yoga... Mike *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
If you can concentrate on breathing and not holding your breath, there is little or no danger from compressed air, especially from the 2 or so feet down that a kayaker would be. I'd guess that if you became comfortable with using it and practiced to get it fixed in your mind to breath, it would work. It's also worth saying that most of the damage that not breathing during a roll after using a pony bottle would cause probably wouldn't kill you immediately. I know that isn't a ringing endorsement, but as staying underwater and not breathing for 5 minutes, probably would kill you, I can't say that the pony bottle is a bad idea. > > Divers will strongly suggest the severe damage that can occur by holding your > breath with compressed air. Sea Kayaker had a review a while back of > compressed air units for kayakers seeking a little more time underwater than the > standard half gasp prior to full immersion usually allows. > > I used at one time a snorkel tube with a closed cell stand of sorts that fit > under the thighs. But that arrangement seemed only meant for training and > might be a pain to keep in the cockpit full time. A modification can easily be > made to make it more permanent by someone handy with customizing. > I had seen some company sell an assembled version of the breathing tube that you fastened to a spot inside your cockpit and ran the other end of the tube out the top of your skirt. I can't find the company so I think they went out of business, but doing something like that would let you chose a location for the snorkel that would be unlikely to pick up water during rolling. Comparing the two ideas though, the snorkel does have the advantage of not sending you to the hospital if you mess up and has almost no parts to break at an inconvenient time. *************************************************************************** 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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