Someone e-mailed me: Dear Matt/Cam, What ever happened to the Sea Seat? How can I get one? The Pacific Canoe Base phone number is no longer good... I responded: I don't know. I think the University of Victoria was behind it originally. You might try them. I was never a fan. Too long to inflate and hard to get on and stay on. I'd suggest you look for a small one man lightweight rubber raft. I found a child's toy raft worked better than the sea seat when I did some tests many years ago. It was lots cheaper as well. Once I saw a pool demonstration that I think John Dowd had something to do with organizing where the demo of the sea seat failed because the button weld in the middle (that gave it the seat shape) failed so that all one was left with was a big floppy balloon. Also the sea seat was much harder to use for self reentry than a paddle float and took something like four minutes to inflate compared with 30 sec. for a paddle float. What is your purpose for wanting one? To me it seamed that its major benefit was that it fit into a pouch on the back of a (made for it) PFD. That way if you went overboard on a sailboat or powerboat it would still be with you (if you wore a PFD anyhow). If one still had a kayak with them that was floating and rescueable the sea seat seemed to have nothing but disadvantages compared to the paddlefloat. I once tried to develop a garment that would blow up an air mattress as an integral part of the back. (or maybe something like the Michelin man suit) so that someone overboard could be floated mostly clear of the cold water. Navy tests back then seemed to indicate that nearly everyone would survived a long time it they could get there head and trunk out of the cold water even if they were still wet and in the wind. I imagine the sea sock was developed for the same reason by Univ. of Victoria hypothermia researchers. I'll ask on Paddlewise if anyone knows if they are still available anywhere. Matt Broze www.marinerkayaks.com *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
I carry a SeaSeat, as does my wife and kids. They are especially invaluable for open crossings in the canoe, where my kids could easily be placed onto one each respectively if the canoe was swamped. For solo sea kayaking, the SeaSeat, other than the mini-rubber raft idea, is a theoretically fantastic idea for preserving core temperatures. It does take practice though, and the inflate time is really about 2 - 3 minutes as I never fully inflate my Seaseat. The last batch made by Pacific Canoe Base was a much more robust product, not prone to delaminating failures, etc. It should never replace a paddlefloat, but as a backup to loosing your boat its not a bad idea. I have used one in a real life rescue detailed in SeaKayaker magazine a few years ago, in gale force winds and heavy current. I remind paddlers that paddlefoats can contribute to shaft breakage if you are not careful using them in heavy seas. I carry a SeaSeat in a custom pouch on my inflatable Mustang; a single-chamber paddlefloat for rapid deployment on my foredeck; and a dual-chamber paddlefloat on my rear deck. Both the latter have cord attatchmnets. I have a heavy duty paddleshaft. The Victoria Canoe and Kayak Club may have a lead on the fellow who bought the stock from Derek Bamforth's estate after he passed away and the Canoe Base closed. I lost the contact name. I bought a few at the time, but wouldn't sell them to anyone for any amount of money, save for a Zodiac and attendant rescue crew to follow me whenever I go paddling - but that might cost you a pretty penny. Doug Lloyd Victoria BC > Someone e-mailed me: > Dear Matt/Cam, > What ever happened to the Sea Seat? How can I get one? The Pacific > Canoe Base phone number is no longer good... *************************************************************************** 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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