Most of these tried and true methods fall on their face when it comes to a rescue with a boat that has no bulkheads. We have played around with these endlessly and there's no easy solution except for two rescuers on one victim. Try it? Try to empty a recreationl boat and get a weak person back in. Sometimes you have to get them on your back deck (head down) and paddle them in and forget the flooded boat.
Both a ACA and BCU have no real solutions for that. It's a real problem and more and more bulkhead-less boats are out there paddled by beginners.
If you're inventive - work on it because the kayaking world needs solutions. The feds should force the manufacturers to install flotation.
this is a very poor rescue…comming up between the boats can be very painfull…konk…OWWW…I banged my head more than once when the boats shifted , doing this one…very poor rescue. especially if it isn’t very very calm out…
it however is fun to paddle up to someone and just sort or place your paddle across their boat and yours (in calm water) and just roll over. boats have a way of walking sideways as you roll…need to pay attention to distance the two boats are from each other …KONK…ugggg…OWWW
easy reentry The easiest way to get back into a kayak is certainly the sooooo convenient rescue sling. It is a 12-13 feeet of floating line that’s made into a loop by attaching both ends. It can be used either for solo rentry or assisted. I’ve tried it myself in both situations and it works like a charm. Since I have a bruised shoulder but can still practice my favorite sport (except for jumping back into a high deck kayak the traditional way after capsizing), I had to find a creative way to so so. And rolling is not always possible even for the most seasoned paddler. So the rescue sling is the ideal option. It is simply tied around the rear coaming of the cockpit to create an easy foot stirrup. If it’s a solo reentry, you attach it to your paddle to help you back into your cockpit, using the strong muscles of your legs and the swing the sling provides you. If it’s assisted, it’s much easier. With the help of your paddling partner who is holding the cockpit coaming, you put your left foot in the sling and jump back into your boat. Try it! It’s so easy I don’t understand why they don’t teach it in our kayak classes!!!
I find the easiest assisted rescue for me is where I come up, feet first, holding onto the two boats and simply slide into my cockpit. The critical key is keeping the head down, as close to the water as possible, until your butt hits the seat. This requires much less energy and upper body strength than climbing onto my back deck, and doesn’t require any more energy from the assistant. I’ve seen and practiced this rescue in a variety of conditions and have yet to see it fail. Among my paddling buddies, it is the assisted rescue of choice but I’ve rarely seen it taught.
Various… Slinging up w/ a shoulder bearing weight on each boat is one that I like at times, but I have heard some concern that it risks shoulder injury because of the strain it puts there. I don’t know any numbers around that.
And yeah - what to do about no bulkhead, no floatation boats. In totally calm, flat water with a strong athletic type there may be a window where, if the boat is flipped back up quickly without scooping much water and said swimmer is able to get over the top of it quickly and with great vigor, it’ll stay seemingly solid. And not sink.
But all it would take is one re-try or the swimmer getting stalled halfway up, or some two foot wave catching it from the side into the cockpit, to turn the boat into a sinking piece of plastic. Or at the least, something floating upside down with so much water in it that it’d be darned near impossible to get it flipped up.
Near relatives of mine had two Otters get loose one night with quite high tides somewhere in Muscongous Bay. They found one of them hung up against a buoy or something. We strongly suspect the other one is housing some lobsters on the bottom of the bay.
If you have decent outfitting, a wide kayak is sometimes easier to perform this technique than in a very narrow kayak (since you can shift about in the cockpit requiring less flexibility). For a narrow kayak you need good flexibility to perform.
This skill requires some practice to learn. If you don’t practice it and can’t pull it off when you need it, then you can dog paddle to the surface for a breath, while awaiting rescue, rather than just bailing out.
paddling with no self-rescue ability I helped out with some adaptive paddling outings last year. Some of the clients clearly had no ability to self-rescue, and would have to have help getting back in a boat or back to shore. But we went out on the water, had a great time, and did it safely, using multiple layers of precautions.
-Every client had to show that they could wet exit and float comfortably wearing a PFD
-Clients were in stable tandems paired with experienced paddlers
-Several solo paddlers with rescue skills and towing gear were along as safety boaters
-Good pod discipline was enforced. Lead and sweep had radios to back up auible and visual signals.
-And most importantly, decisions were very conservative. The group always stayed close to shore in protected water. Trips only ran in good weather. If there was any question about conditions on the water the pod would wait while a solo boater scouted.
I went home feeling that paddling safely without self-rescue skills is possible, but you need to accept some constraints to do it.
I've never been able to do the Petrussen Manuever in any kayak. I do have a shorter torso although I doubt that's the reason I'm having trouble. Maybe at TC this year you can show me what I'm doing wrong. I obviously hope to never use that particular manuever but I'd at least like to be able to do it.
swamped/re-enrty idea I was pondering the re-entry problem along with the no-bulkhead problem and it occured to me that float bags that could be inflated AFTER you were back in the cockpit might work for both. A fully swamped boat is very easy to re-enter. Once in, inflate the bags(could be a low-pressure high-volume foot pump), and rise majestically from the surface.
Of course, the folks that buy no-bulkhead boats are typically very cost-sensitive, and wouldn’t want to pay for such a system.
Sure thing I’d be happy to team-up with you on this. Some people find the technique very easy, and some difficult. As far as body-types go, I have a long torso, but short legs. A tuilik often makes the Petrussen relatively easy since it actually lets you move out of the seat a few inches or more, but a tuilik isn’t a requirement nor is a SOF.
Ironically, in my experience, the people who take the time to learn this skill often already have good recovery skills so are the least likely kayakers to have to use it. However, “shit happens”, so it always helps to have yet another arrow in your quiver to broaden your “what if” capability.
Torso length I’m plenty flexible, find I can generally do the Pertussin in my Explorer LV but am quite challenged to do it in the Vela. For the latter, the boat is just a little too tall for me to get braced on the hull. So a full balance brace is more successful.
So for what it’s worth in the above couple of posts, I think it comes down to arm length versus the height of the boat as much as anything.
Paddle Float Rescue How about a standard paddle float rescue? It can be done using almost no upper body srtength. The trick is to hook your ankle over the paddle shaft and straighten that leg. What should happen is that your upper body is lifted onto the boat and your arms steering you.
Feet-first paddle float rescue A lot less strength required than the standard way, but it puts a lot of weight on the paddle so it’s a no-no for wood or ultralight paddles.
Actually, just this last week we heard from a paddler from our local group who flipped in a couple of foot small waves in Lake Champlain, and had to go for the traditional paddle float self-rescue. He was alone and doesn't have a roll etc yet. The guy is deceptively strong - not young or big but many years of road biking under his belt and he's maintained it with gym time as he's converted more to paddling.
He did manage it, but had to wait and time his moves to the waves, and said he was seriously tired after he finally got back in. Wasn't sure he'd have been able to do another, so he paddled real close to shore after that.
Now make that an older woman with a real high decked boat, lousy deck rigging and arthritis in one knee....
Our group tried some feet first stuff this last Thursday night, I heard good things about how little strength it took. Will have a chance to try it myself as soon as my last big musical commitment is over this week.
Will post some new no muscle & rec moves I am the person Celia is sharing about doing to newer types of recoveries with no muscle and rec boats in mind.
I will post a new topic on what we have come up with. After looking at most of the books, dvds and club sites around the country there are no super methods people say.
However, do to the help of many fine folks we have found a few modified sea kayak techniques and two brand new rec boat techniques that really work! Will share soon.
sling for sot I would imagine that two carabiners attached to two of the cleats on the opposite side of the sot would work adequately to provide a sling solution to getting back into a SOT. Could be carried in the pfd and provide a simple solution?
gonna go try it out this afternoon. Would be good introductory practice for my wife.
No sling Just let her try a basic scramble. If needed mention swimming over the cockpit, dropping hip, and swinging around.
Anyone not seriously overweight or infirm should be able to recover a Scupper Pro with nothing to assist. The less you tell her, and the less gizmos you introduce, the better off she’ll be.
You don’t want her to get the idea there is anything harder or more complicated than getting in and out of bed - unless it becomes obvious there is need. Besides, women have lower COG and are less likely to muscle it or have ego issues.
The first time Kim went over on a much tippier ski-like SOT she was on before I could say anything. The first day in a SINK (with ocean cockpit) I had her wet exit - and she cowboyed back in before I could get to recovery advice. In both cases she was (and still is) very new to paddling).
Just see what happens. Offer only what’s needed. Demo vs. explain. Odds are she’ll surprise you.
Do a “Heal Hook” rescue The heal hook rescue is much easier and faster than the rescue they teach in beginning classes, especially for those on the unathletic side.