9/11/08 Last Thursday I took the GTS out for a short spin with Ken and Barb. I had removed the FG seat supports, so I fit a whole lot better, although the thigh braces still gave me concern. It was the first time I've had the boat out of the harbor and we moseyed over to BAR. There was just enough water to make some passes through BAR and the boat seemed to handle the churning swells pretty good. Ken and I rolled in the cove without any trouble, then we headed back in. At Pirate's Cove we continued rolling and I practiced a wet exit so Ken could try out my boat. He said it rolled well, but was hard to turn, which seems to describe it to a tee. Back at the Secret Beach, the dock was free so K&B used it to land on. I decided to do another wet exit right by the shore. Now I'm feeling lucky to be writing this! My feet had slipped off my pegs and with my legs tight in the braces, I couldn't get them back on. Without something to push on, I found myself upside down and having trouble getting out. I think I was mostly out of the boat, but my legs were leveraged against the braces and wouldn't come out. I felt a twinge of panic starting, but was actually able to roll up enough to grab a breath and then while upside down again, concentrate on freeing my legs. When I came up a concerned Barb was watching from the dock almost ready to come in after me. It quickly made me realize how even experienced paddlers can get into trouble. Both this boat and my Delfin are tight fits for me, but at least on the Delfin, I've removed the thigh braces. That will be my next mod on the GTS before it goes out again. I've always been careful to practice my first wet exit from a boat with people around, but once I've shown I could do it, I've taken them for granted. Might be time to consider some other possible entanglements and practice this most basic of moves more often. Mark Sanders www.sandmarks.net # *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************Received on Mon Sep 15 2008 - 17:03:27 PDT
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