Re: [Paddlewise] A reminder to use the right gear ( or thanks for the rescue).

From: Craig Jungers <crjungers_at_gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 7 Sep 2010 09:01:58 -0700
On Tue, Sep 7, 2010 at 8:03 AM, Martin, Jack <martin.jack_at_solute.us> wrote:

>  Kirk Olsen suggested:
>
> One option that I've come up with is to paddle next to the end of the boat,
> and grab the rudder, or stern - but that sounds very difficult ( I would be
> working from a 17.5", 45 cm, beam boat).  Maybe put a paddle face against
> one end of the tumbling boat and trying to rotate the tumbling boat to be
> perpendicular to the waves instead of parallel.
>
> __________
>
> Yes, that sounds very difficult: a slightly less dramatic option might be
> to clip a sea anchor on a short tether to the errant boat's bow fitting or
> line to bring the bow up into the wind and stop the window shade effect.
>  That said, how many of us carry a sea anchor readily accessible on deck?
>  (If I were doing that kind of paddling, I guess I might -- but I'm not --
> and I don't.)  Would need a quick hand and a gutsy paddler.
>

"Quick" being the operative word here, I think. I've been pondering this
question this morning and thinking that it's not just surf skis that could
have the problem. A few months back Pam bought an Illusion from Sterling in
Bellingham that only weighs about 30 lbs in his superlight layup option. And
SOF boats commonly weigh in at under 30lbs. Combine this light weight with
something that keeps the cockpit from flooding (like a sea sock) and you
could experience this phenomenon in your decked kayak too.

The problem with putting a paddle face against a tumbling boat is that
Newton's 3rd law of motion is likely to come into play and create the same
situation for the would-be rescuer.

My imagination conjured up some sort of restraint you could toss over the
tumbling kayak... something to create drag. But just a throw line wouldn't
be enough... it would have to be something that would entangle itself on the
smooth hull of the kayak. But Kirk doesn't even carry a throw line; let
alone a throw "net".

Absent some sort of "gear" the only other option would be to quickly - and
very quickly - get downwind and just block the tumbling boat with all the
risks that brings into the equation.

Is this a common situation? Maybe some sort of bag that would fill with
water in a capsize (but be easy to manually empty) to weigh the boat down a
bit and add drag.


Craig Jungers
Moses Lake, WA
www.nwkayaking.net
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Received on Tue Sep 07 2010 - 09:05:01 PDT

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