Another idea
If the purpose is to stay in the boat during the awkward stage of learning to roll, where the paddler has started having a hip snap but it isn’t very strong yet, or adding the paddle creates a crisis, all that is really needed is a big hunk of floatation available for a quick roll up to the surface. Yes?
You can pay the bucks for a RollAid BackUp device (or vice versa - we have them and I still can’t keep the names straight) and blow it up by hand to use for practice. Or you could take a dry bag or float bag, tether it to your wrist via a paddle leash (stick to half rolls for this at first), and pull it in to use to help get up if the roll isn’t quite going to happen.
Won’t work unless the hip snap/thigh lift has at lesat started functioning, but that’s true of everything other than an assisted rescude.
Can you clear the tube?
I haven’t done any diving in 20 years but I can tell you that your tube will end up with water in it. Divers know you have to clear your tube by blowing air from your lungs through it.
Your lungs may not contain the volume of air needed to clear a long, wide diameter tube.
I can just see it
A big gulp of water when you need a breath of air the most. It’ll just overcomplicate the already awkward. Honestly i don’t like the idea of something floating around to grab on to, for the chance of shoulder injury as you panic and try to pull yourself upright with arm extended.i am sure not everyone is like me, but i pulled my shoulder really good like that. do i ever wish i just wet-exited.
big gulp
Mmm. A Big Gulp. You just made me thirsty!
Use of floatation
Soemthing like the BackUp device or any other inflatable - you don’t pull straight down on them. At least, if there is a lot of pressure doing that sufficient to risk shoulder injury, the hip snap isn’t strong enough yet to try using this option. The start of the roll has to be there. (And the same risk exists with trying to use a paddle float on a paddle, of someone pulling down and placing a lot of weight on it.)
The best and safest way to use large amounts of floatation in roll practice is to make it act similarly to how you’d use the bow of a WW boat, that is to come up just to the surface and rest some upper body weight on it. Head and some torso over it, that kind of thing, to get to the surface. Then complete the hip snap/thigh lift and come up from there.
Take You Time. Keep It Simple…
you’ll get the roll. Believe it. Don’t bother with the a breathing device. It’ll just be a distraction. Spent the money on good coaching instead.
sing
Thanks everyone for the sanity check . .
Thanks everyone for the sanity check . . .
I’ll just keep trying the roll . . . have a different boat with a nice low back deck which may be easier than my Nighthawk in the beginning awkward phase . . . I’ll just keep trying and always have a spotter, or maybe try Celia’s float bag idea . . . I had thought about that as well. My hipsnap is fine off the bow of another boat or off a spotter, etc.
Paula
I tried it
I modified a snorkel with a flex tube and ran it through the skirt’s tunnel and into the hull.
Yes, it kind of worked, but I started worrying about the unintended gulp of water. My whole reason was to allow me to stay in the boat while practicing solo. In retrospect, a dumb idea. Never practice without a spotter.A spotter standing alongside can act as an “immovable object”, hold your hands to practice hip snaps, help with your paddle position and such. And most iportantly, help you get that extra breath of air between attempts.
Jim
rolling effort
if you put half as much effort into learning the few steps it takes to roll as you have put into this snorkle idea, you’d roll like mad.
Practicing Solo…
I actually taught myself to roll solo. I used a very sandy beach. I locate myself in waist deep water to practice rolling up. If I blew the roll, I used my paddle to bottom brace up. If you bottom brace, you’ll find that it’s more effective to hip snap rather than to just push off the bottom. It saved alot of time from a wet exit and the resulting need to empty out the boat. Just make sure to tuck forward when you capsize over so you don’t scrape your head. Every once in awhile I did end up drifting into deeper water (when it’s windy) and ended up wet exiting. You can always test first by pushing the paddle down to check the depth before you go over.
sing
thats
exactly how I taught myself…
Best Wishes
Roy
yep
same here.
Shallow Water
IMO, shallow water is highly underrated for learning skills, especially since a lot of problems in a kayak come from anxiety rather than necessary physical issues. Working in shallow water automatically takes away a lot of the anxiety and allows you to focus on balance and movement. I used quite shallow water to start the scull and still go back to it when things are going south at times, because it enforces good discipline while feeling very safe. And because of the depth you’ll readily notice if the paddle is starting to dive, or if the upper body is collapsing due to lack of hold on the boat.
…
With the aid of a gasketed section secured to a snorkel, connecting to the wider 2" PVC tubing and running up through a downsized foam belly-board, you can breathe pretty easily...definitely for practice.
Added Incentive
The place where I learned how to do this has lots and lots of Leopard Sharks in the summer, you know they are harmless but looking one in the eye sure puts some snap in the hip snap.
this used to be called a diving bell
Didn’t Work For Me
One of my friends fashioned one, and I ended up sucking water a couple of times, and just all round spending to much time to get it to work right. Didn’t take long for me to give up on this idea.
Lou
Shoulder danger pushing off bottom
Isn’t it true, though, that using the paddle off the bottom is an invitation to shoulder injury? It’s when you are halfway up and the boat decides to move away from the paddle that you can overextend and really hurt yourself. No thanks . . . I’m too old for that, with one rotator cuff surgery under my belt . . . I’ll stick to working with a spotter . . .
Now if I was young and indestructable, or even young and reckless . . .
Paula
The “Box” Applies
on a bottom brace as in a regular brace or a roll. But, if you aren’t sure that you can maintain the box, then by all means work with a spotter and/or an instructor. Self instruction is not for everyone. Definitely not for those who know they don’t have good body awareness.
sing
diver in the house…
yup,
The problem with a long snorkel is that you do not clear enough of your exhaled air from the tube, and you tend to re-breathe your exhaled air.
I hope that’s clear.
Have not heard of trying to roll with a tank on your back yet. 