Re: [Paddlewise] Don't loose yer' gear! Don't loose yer' Kayak!

From: Craig Jungers <crjungers_at_gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 30 Sep 2008 20:31:50 -0700
On Tue, Sep 30, 2008 at 6:23 PM, Derek <glamourpets_at_yahoo.com> wrote:

> I have been pondering the most safety-conscious way to arrange my gear in
> my kayak.  Currently, I have a length of cord attached to each item.  The
> cord has a clip on the end which is attached to the kayak.  With a scenario
> like this, gear cannot be lost unless it is unclipped.  The challenge with
> this is that if one gets separated from their kayak, they are doomed.


I think that a good method would be to create hard tie-points inside the
kayak to which you can secure drybags. You could epoxy these in. There are
some of these available already. I think NRS has something.

>
> Perhaps one should tie themselves to the kayak?  It seems to me that,
> although this would work, it presents an entanglement risk.  Thoughts?


I would be very cautious about tethering myself to the kayak. I don't think
I'd do it. What I might do is use my towline to tie myself to the boat if I
was already out and needed to make sure I could stay with it.

>
> I recently purchased a SPOT, and it seems to me that this unit would also
> be most effective if clipped to the kayak deck with the logo facing the sky.
>  One would turn it on when departing the dock.  A single keypress would
> activate the device, after which point you could forget about it.  One could
> put this device on their body, but since it works best when the SPOT logo is
> facing the sky, you'd have to mount it on your helmet to be effective.  You
> could mount it on your shoulder, but there is no way to know if your head is
> blocking Spot's view of the satelite.   Thoughts?
>
> If I had a SPOT - and it's likely that I'll get one at some point - I'd
consider it to be a piece of safety gear like my VHF and wear it rather than
leave it on the boat. If you do have a problem then if it's on the boat
rescuers will find that. But if you're not in the boat then what? Of course,
there is a diminishing return with carrying stuff on your body.

Craig Jungers
Moses Lake, WA
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Received on Tue Sep 30 2008 - 20:31:59 PDT

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