On Thu, Apr 2, 2009 at 5:21 AM, James Farrelly <jfarrelly5_at_comcast.net>wrote: > Well...its entertaining. > > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewQdgZ2tg-Y&eurl=http://gokayaknow.com/ > index.php/2009/kayaking-instruction/the-folly-of-the-paddle-float- > rescue-for-rough-water/&feature=player_embedded > Craig added: >>>>>>>Sometimes you need two paddle floats. And... uh.... paddles. I just wonder if Matt Broze thought this idea through completely when he came up with the paddle float re-entry idea. Thanks... started my day off right... with a laugh. Craig Jungers Moses Lake, WA PS: If that had been me you would have never seen any video... ever!!! :P<<<<<<<< Okay Craig, I'll take the bait, even though I should be working on my taxes. I may have invented the paddlefloat rescue and refined it soon afterwards, but unfortunately it is in the public domain now and I have no control over how it is taught and practiced and have given up trying. In fact, I've been appalled many times that after all the work I put into making the paddlefloat rescues as solid and as reliable as possible I see instructional videos, books and even ajor ACA coaches teaching something that resembles it superficially but are vastly inferior. I'm not up to date on this, but in the past, the ACA manuals and head coaches wouldn't even mention fastening the paddle to the deck as a possibility (although many ACA certified instructors, to their credit, do teach it with a fixed outrigger on their own). The only excuses I heard from ACA bigwigs I talked to was that not all kayaks had suitable deck rigging to set up an outrigger. (I'll bet most manufacturers would soon remedy that situation if the ACA and BCU taught it both ways--that is if the BCU now even mentions the paddle float at all in any way other than dismissively--which has been the case since I first tried to show it to Derek H. back in about 1981). I wasn't asking the ACA to stop teaching the non-fastened paddle method (it is far better than nothing, and has its uses in certain situations, such as in surf) but only to also include fixing the paddle to the rear deck if the means to do so existed (as most North American sea kayaks and many others had in place already for just that purpose). Anyone could easily modify their deck lines or add the Nimbus system to make a fixed outrigger possible on those kayaks without that capability already. I viewed that YouTube video with amusement. I had to wonder if the person trying to self rescue had an agenda to get across and was merely acting the idiot. He seemed to learn nothing at all during his failures. First he blows up the float and puts it on the paddle without hanging on to the kayak at all. One should always practice with an elbow or leg in the cockpit to keep the boat from blowing away as he got the outrigger set up. Next he should have topped the float up tight with another puff once he slipped it on to the blade so it couldn't slip off (or even be pulled off if he tried--try it yourself). Alternately, he could have clipped a clip to prevent it coming off or had a shock cord from the float to the boat to prevent the float's loss from the paddle or the boat as I advocate). Next he tries to set the outrigger up on the wrong end (bow) of the cockpit. He even has to risk losing his pump by moving it into his future way, placing it inside the cockpit he is about to try to enter, to do so. The lower and flatter back deck makes a much better outrigger location. Next he put the blade under a shock cord power face side up (which makes it harder to thread under the cords on the far side of the deck without having to reach over the deck and lift them). He did not continue threading it under a cord on the other side of the kayak for a much solider outrigger, as he should have done, anyway. With the blade under cords on both sides of the kayak he then should either push the blade beyond the deck and twist the shaft a quarter turn to key the paddle so it couldn't pull out easily (until he wanted it to) or, as I prefer, put the paddle's drip ring under the nearest cord to accomplish the same purpose more easily. Incidentally, cord other than shock cord is far better for holding the outrigger in place. At least more than one strand of shock cord on each side of the kayak should be used because most single strands of shock cord are too stretchy to provide a solid outrigger. The problem with only going under one shock cord quickly becomes apparent on his first try. The paddle scissors in towards the kayak (losing leverage) as he lifts himself on to the kayak and enter the cockpit because it is only under the near side cord and is therefore free to pivot. Also this single cord "attachment" makes the kayak far easier to tip away from the float because the float doesn't even have to be lifted from the water for the kayak to roll over that way (as he soon demonstrates). His twist to end up sitting in the cockpit, butt first, was awkward and leaves him having to try to get his feet in the cockpit without being able to even put a hand on the float side of the paddle for stability while doing so (because the paddle is way in front of him rather than just behind the cockpit and easy to lean on). Back in the water, he next tries to get up on the kayak from the wrong side where the paddle is no help at all. About that time the fact that he didn't secure the float to the paddle blade manifests itself for the first time. When the float comes off the blade if there had been any wind at all he would have lost the float as it blew across the water like a balloon so he was again fortunate he had no wind. I advocate the paddle float always be tethered to the kayak by a suitably long shock cord (3 to 4 feet) to allow the paddle to be attached to the kayak without much trouble with the shock cord always attached to prevent loss of the float (before, during, and after the rescue). On his next try not only does he not correct the obvious problem of the float coming off the blade and it does before he even begins. Seemingly unaware of this, he continues and this time is entering the cockpit in a much better fashion (feet first) except since he again attached the paddle in front of the cockpit he again can't put a hand on the paddle shaft between the kayak and the float to help stabilize himself and so quickly is back in the drink. His third try fails much like the first did. For those who would like a more reliable paddle float rescue I've got a more detailed write up of how I presented it in the "Rescues" page found in the "Manuals" pickbox of our website. *************************************************************************** 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 Thu Apr 09 2009 - 21:31:00 PDT
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