[Paddlewise] Paddle float storage

If someone else needed help, I would do a boat-to-boat assisted rescue
rather than dig out the paddle float. As someone else pointed out, it is
faster. Alternately, I might offer my paddle for a reentry and
side-by-side Eskimo rescue, if I knew the person had practised Eskimo
rescues. (The first time I did this with my wife, when I was backed into a
corner of the pool and couldn't offer my bow, she grasped the concept --
and the paddle -- immediately and rolled up though she had never heard of
the side Eskimo rescue. Of course, she was ready to grasp at straws by
then.)

As for how I fastened the bungies to the bulkhead, I don't have any
pictures, but maybe I can create a word picture or two.

I use homemade fittings. You will need four:

1. Take a section of small-diameter, hollow, aluminum tent pole and
roughen the outside with coarse sandpaper.

2. Lay it on a heavy-duty plastic bag, wet it out with epoxy resin, and
drape fiberglass cloth over it.

3. Thoroughly saturate the cloth with the resin, cover it with clear
plastic, and lay a piece of two-by-four or a brick on either side of the
pole, flattening the cloth and snugging it up against the pole.

4. After the resin has cured, cut the pole into pieces about 3/4 inch long.

5. Trim the fiberglass, round the sharp edges with sandpaper, and roughen
the bottom of each fitting.

6. Now epoxy the fittings to the bulkhead in two pairs. In each pair, the
fittings are in line with each other, and they are aligned vertically on
the bulkhead. Leave at least 1/4 inch of space between the fitting and any
adjacent surface, such as the hull or the underside of the coaming.

7. Thread a length of small-diameter bungie cord through each pair of
fittings, knot one end, adjust the tension, and knot the other end.

8. You now have two bungie cords (shock cords, elastics) mounted
vertically on the bulkhead. Fold paddle float and insert.

Needless to say, this works best on fiberglass bulkheads.

Chuck Holst
***************************************************************************
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/
***************************************************************************