Just to update everyone and to reassure some. As some concluded this arose after I injured my hand on the looped toggle strap of a friends kayak. Kayaking coaches Shawna Franklin and Leon Somme of Body Boat Blade (BBB) advise their students to cut the toggle loops on the bow of kayaks and to suspend the toggle from a single line. As some concluded this is to prevent injuries in the surf zone. According to the British Canoe Union (BCU) handbook the original purpose of the toggles was not to provide carrying handles but as a last resort grab point in rough waters. Kayakers who come out of their boats and are in danger of loosing the boat in rough water, tides or strong currents, can as a last attempt grasp the line at the bow or the stern. The toggle or handle at the end of the line is there to prevent the line from slipping through your hand. see page 111 of the BCU handbook. The reference page for the newer handbook is likely different. Anyone with the BCU handbook will no doubt see the ironic reference as the diagram, Fig. 4:12, depicts a kayak with the toggle attached to the kayak by a looped line. This loop can injure the kayaker should the boat start to spin. The boat will spin the kayaker won't and if the kayakers hand or finger is inside the loop something will give as the loop spins and tightens. This is what happened to myself not on the water but on the beach. We'd just landed. I had switched boats with a friend who wanted to paddle my NDK HV Explorer. I was in a Nigel Foster Shadow. A third friend had the bow of the Shadow. I had the stern. Neither of us were using the looped toggles to carry the boat. Unfortunately the friend on the bow stumbled and the bow dropped. This resulted in me loosing my grip on the stern. As the kayak was slipping from my grasp I instinctively reached for the toggle. My left index finger slipped through the looped line but I was unable to get a firm purchase on the handle or toggle. The boat slipped away and my finger tip was crushed by the line as the boats weight put tension on the line. The kayak was essentially empty. My Doctor suspects that I may have a chipped bone on the last knuckle of the finger. Since time is the only cure I choose to skip getting an Xray. The doctor advises me I will likely develop arthritis in the joint. Prior to this I have repeatedly passed along the BCU and BBB warnings. To my knowledge no one I paddle with have removed the loops. My advice simply does not match the weight of the manufactures long standing practice. The further irony is that while this looping the toggle is discouraged by the BCU it has not become the standard practice of British or any other manufacture. The BCU handbook was first published in 1981 proving that habitual practices are indeed hard to break. My intent is to gather some evidence and politely bring this to the attention of the industry so if they choose they may change this practice before some nefarious character decides to sue. Finally I have decided that in the future I will not assist in the lifting of any kayak with a looped toggle on the bow or stern. My kayaking friends don't have to take good advice and by the same token I don't have to stick my hand into "loopy" situations. Gordin Warner Victoria BC *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
> Just to update everyone and to reassure some. As some concluded this > arose after I injured my hand on the looped toggle strap of a friends kayak. > > Kayaking coaches Shawna Franklin and Leon Somme of Body Boat Blade > (BBB) advise their students to cut the toggle loops on the bow of > kayaks and to suspend the toggle from a single line. > <snip> My old Mid-Canada Fibreglass (now Impex) Diamonte has toggles that are attached to a metal hoop via a *very* short loop. By very short, I mean in the order of three-quarters of an inch. I used to pass the bow and stern tie-down through that small loop (since it was slightly larger than the metal hoop) and it used to take me several seconds to feed the rope through. You *might* get your pinkie finger in there if you persevered, but you'd be hard pressed to get any other finger in there at all, let alone by accident. I got tired of threading my tie-down ropes through that tiny slot, and switched to a good steel carabiner that I leave on the boat hooked through the metal hoop. I don't paddle much in salt water, so I'm not worried about the carabiner being affected by weather. I then pass the tie-down through the much-larger carabiner opening, saving me valuable seconds and much angst. But I wonder about the plastic loops that are attached to some boats instead of toggles. One could conceivably grab one, have the boat twist and find that one could not let go.It wouldn't be because the loop closed in on your fingers, but because the entire boat was blocking the removal of your arm, pinning it into position where further twisting of the boat might end up in strained or torn tendons, muscles, or even a broken arm. For carrying on dry land, if the boat has gear in it, I grab the boat itself. If it is empty, and the grab handles or toggles are comfortable, I will use those. Many handles in front of stern rudders are uncomfortable, so I will often stern carry by cupping my hand under the boat and "grabbing" the keel. -- Darryl *************************************************************************** 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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