Re: [Paddlewise] Entrapment - emergency release of spray deck

  Yes, I'm one of those who has inadvertantly tucked his grab loop
underneath the spray skirt. There is also another related potential
problem. If your grab loop is stitched on, the thread holding it in place
can unravel. This did in fact happen to me on a trip. I had to do some
reinforced stitching with heavy nylon thread and a very large needle.
So it is worth while to periodically inspect and make sure your grab
loop is securely attached to the spray skirt.

BRC

Craig (the one from Moses Lake) wrote:


>I posted on WCP about this and have had some interesting responses.
>
> First... I think it's important to note that almost every paddler who uses 
> a
> spray deck has inadvertently folded the toggle/loop under the deck but 
> there
> has not been much focus on this potentially deadly problem.
>
> One paddler puts his drytop over his spray deck tunnel which would make 
> the
> "hand down the tunnel" release technique virtually impossible to do in 
> time;
> especially when you add in the fact that his PFD goes then goes over both 
> of
> them.
>
> An alternative technque is to pinch down at the side of the kayak cockpit
> where the tension of the spray deck and cockpit curvature is at a minimum. 
> I
> have not tried this method but at least one other paddler says that this 
> is
> the way he always removes his spray deck so that he'd do it automatically 
> if
> he needed to.
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