cockpit… never a problem
Head my only option
It won’t fit thru the day hatch, the other hatches are occassionally available but require another paddler to get into them, and strap-to-deck seems to complicate other things and risk loss. At 5’4" there is nothing that I paddle which fits me the way I’d prefer in conditions and has room left to get a helmet into the cockpit without compromising re-entry - in-cockpit storage generally works much better for average sized guys and up. I can’t even guarantee getting a pump in there. I can think of maybe one boat that I have paddled where I might be able to get away with that and is sized so that I have useful contact, and I wouldn’t bet my last buck on that either.
I finally spent a bit more money to get a helmet that has adjustable fittings so it’ll adapt to hood or no hood temperatures and still be mostly comfy to wear all day. Even with that I find having a couple of acetominophen tablets ready for consumption in a PFD pocket is a good idea by mid-afternoon, but it’s the best alternative I’ve found yet.
I don’t know if you paddle an average sized or a much lower volume boat - if the latter your options are more limited.
If you get a helmet that is comfortable
enough for you to wear it in the stink then why not get the helmet that is also comfortable enough to wear the whole time???
rockgardens/tide play/surf i wear mine the whole time…no reason not to…
SPEND THE EXTRA MONEY! and get a nice one…kevlar is light on the head…if you spring for one of the really cool ones like a Sweet Strutter then you also get a great brim (baseball hat style) for sun…and they do not weigh very much at all…take the time to pad it out right and you will wear it all the time (mebbe even in the car like Joon)…
Unless you’re a Tsunami Ranger,
or launch and land in very rocky, uneven, turbulent conditions, you may be able to scrounge around until you find a helmet that is relatively shallow, able to be lashed down to your deck so it doesn’t flop. Back in my motorcycling days, I wore a full coverage helmet, but the extra helmet I carried for my wife was “half coverage” and strapped down to the back of the seat without flopping.
I think Kevin is talking about long trip
where you paddle all day for several days. I am guessing a gnarly launch, 4 hours (at least) to lunch, gnarly landing, lunch, gnarly launch, 4 hours (at least), gnarly landing, and then camp - repeat for 1-2 weeks as needed.
So this is what I have used before - A big deck bag (mesh) for the helmet, in the cockpit rolling around loose, or a large under deck bag.
My preference was the mesh deck bag.
reconfigure the back deck attachment
I don’t see another way. Configure something for one handed operation. If you can clip the chin strap to one side configure a bungie with a clip that can stretch from the other side to pull it centered.
Variations on a theme:
imagine there’s two parallel bungies on either side of the aft deck, like the paddle float bungies. One side has one of those clips that the side bungie can go through leaving the clip perpendicular.
You reach behind you and clip the helmet through the strap to one side, of course it’ll flop into the water, flop it on deck and reach from the other side and pull it onto the clip. I’m totally making this up. But the idea is that it’s centered until you need it then it goes to one side for easier release on the helmet clip.
On my Express I had some variation on a centered bungie and I was flexible enough to reach around one handed and loop the helmet strap through it twice and it held on.
The method of holding things down by stretching the middle of a parallel bungie to another with aclip works. You just have to fiddle around and find a clip configuration that doable with one hand and doesn’t complicate back of deck self-rescues(getting hooked), if that’s an issue.
No, wouldn’t work
The perimeter lines are for rescue, not securing gear. The bungies are for securing gear that won’t get in the way if the boat has to be emptied of water in the case of an assisted rescue - a helmet would. (and likely either block the view of the chart case or the compass)
perimeter lines can be used for storing
gear - if you want to. AND, a helmet (or anything else) stored on the deck won’t necessarily be in the way of an assisted rescue - depending on how you perform the rescue.
For me…
– Last Updated: Oct-13-08 8:13 AM EST –
Maybe for you this would work. For me, I can't see having to avoid a helmet on the front deck at the point that the boat has to be flipped over my own deck to empty out water, either the other boat's or mine. I see no way with my arm length and torso height to literally get around that, and I am strong enough but I'm still an average sized female. I can't fully lift a boat full of water without risking injury - need to be able to slide it - and an injured rescuer isn't helpful.
As to hooking stuff onto perimeter lines, unless you are talking about something very flat and very light like a chart case closer to the cockpit I respectfully completely disagree. I've had moments where a guy with gloves was flustered and didn't have the easiest time getting his hands under my rigging for support in a rescue, and that's with the rigging fully redone with plastic balls for some elevation and a tension that has passed muster with plenty of coaches. If you have crap that sticks up on the front deck that could block access to a stretch of perimeter line, or contributes to a tighter tension, it'd complicate things more. I don't even like a strap-on compass up there these days for that reason - would rather use the handheld if the boat lacks a mounted compass.
I haven't met any coaches of any association who recommend other than the cleanest possible decks, front and back. I've heard some edited cursing when they had to do a rescue with stuff on the front deck that could have been placed elsewhere.
get creative
I went back and read some of your previous posts. One recurring thread is that you ‘blame’ the inability to do things in a kayak on the ‘limitations’ of your body. Use your mind to come up with solutions…
Check this out, you don’t have to flip a kayak all the way over to drain water out. But, if you insist on flipping it over, you can flip it over BEFORE the hypothetical helmet gets in your way. The kayak will also be narrower at this point so it should be easier for you to reach across a kayak. Unless you are physically stunted in height this works. Surprisingly, you can even flip a kayak and drain the water hold just the bow!!
No one should lift a boat full of water, and you do slide it!! But have you ever tried sliding it hull down and THEN flipping it??? Try that sometime.
Um - that’s usually what I do
– Last Updated: Oct-13-08 7:17 PM EST –
Hull down, slide it over my own front deck (actually a bit of my own cockpit too) then flip it to dump the water. It varies a bit whether the other cockpit is clear enough to actually dump the water well unless I pull it well up. So in some cases you'd be correct that it'd work, in others no.
Actually slide with hull down is what everyone has done in any training and in our core group for a while now - I'm not clear how it's creative. It's a hell of a lot easier than the older hull-up-gotta-break-suction approach.
I can't count on maintaining good control of the other boat at a "nearly-over" stage - up or down tend to work more securely and efficiently.
I don't "blame" the limitations - I recognize them and where I am risking injury if I ignore that. I'm 57 yrs old, and have prior decades of activities that were a lot more physically demanding than kayaking and left a few momentos behind that take maintenance to keep at bay.
I'll see if any coaches I work with put their helmets up front this coming season... so far I haven't seen that. Those guys know a lot more than me.
Rick S’s method.
Rick has a simple and effective method of stowing his helmet on the aft deck alongside the day hatch. With luck he will see this thread and describe it.
BTW, my helmet does not fit through my day hatch, so thus far I have worn it all day at sea on days it is/maybe needed. Stowing it on the foredeck seems to be asking for trouble.
I plan on setting my boats up in the manner that Rick has so I can stow my helmet if necessary.
Helmet Stowage from Rick S.
From another forum, Rick’s solution:
some of the shred ready and pro tec helmets have those holes in them…notably, one on the top just about centered?
on the rear deck, tie off a piece of short bungie to a dowel that is wider than the hole in the top of the helmet…attach the bungie by drilling a whole in it and tying that off. to secure the helmet to the back deck, stretch the bungie and then feed the dowel through that top hole and have it lie flat/horizontally across that hole…the pressure from the bungie will secure it.
to release, pull up on the dowel and fit it back through the hole vertically…it will snap down from the pressure of the bungie and your lid is released.
haven’t tried this on a big and ugly day…but by that point you oughta have your lid on anyways.
Variation
– Last Updated: Oct-15-08 10:20 AM EST –
If I read you right, the thing you describe is a short bungie (by short I understand like 1" or so.
What I thought was that a piece of wood or plastic that is about 4" long and 1/4 to 1/2 inch wide with two relatively closely spaced holes in it can be used on one of the existing deck bungies. The piece would look like so (just as thick as the hole of choice on the helmet would allow):
=============O======O=============
Thread the bungie thru the holes so that the piece rests on top of the bungie while not in use. E.g. thread one from under-over-under again. The holes should be spaced about the width of the hole in the helmet that you will use or just a bit narrower IMO to minimize helmet flopping around.
Then just lift the thing and push it thru the helmet hole from outside all the way into the helmet. It will flop sideways once it is inside.
The piece can be slid to one side of the deck for easy mounting, then the attached helmet can be slid back in the middle - the tension from the bungie should keep it in position but I see where strong waves can cause it to move sideways but never fall off. Plus the piece would not dangle around when not in use but would lay flat on the deck and the bungies can still be used for other purposes ...
A variation would be if the piece is installed on two (initially) parallel bungies that now form an "X" with the piece in the middle (both bungies can be threaded thru the same holes or have their own holes). Could be parallel in either direction across or alongside the hull. Or even in the middle of "X" - crossed bungies that some have instead of parallel...
This would secure the helmet squarely in the middle of the two bungies and would also keep it in the middle of the deck. Or the thing may come with its own bungies to attach to fittings or existing webbing already on the rear deck or the deckline there (And yes, I read the posts against using deck lnes for this. Noted). There - this can't be patented now since it is publicly shred here -;)
Or - instead of all that threading and, do yet a simpler thing - use the helmet's straps around one of the two parallel bungies. Stretch and plop the other bungie over the helmet and "hook" it under it and you get a similar attachment of two bungies in an "X" position. Since the helment is being pulled by the straps on one sire by one bungie and to the other side by the other bungie, it won't move about too much or make clanking noises...
Here it is: http://www.pbase.com/kocho/image/104589518.jpg
easy
Get the folks in the canoes to carry it for you. They always have extra space!
Easy for them
They can clip it to the PFD they are sitting on…
(Just kidding!)
L
I used to own a Canoe, and the yack drivers would ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS ask me to carry something for them.
Bungee netting…
…is commonly sold for securing bulky items on bicycle and motorcycle racks. It should be a simple matter to attach it to the perimeter lines on a kayak, where it would make a good hold-down for a helmet. The ones I’ve seen have clips that would allow removal when you didn’t need to secure a helmet. BTW, Prijon uses this type of netting on their boats.
not to sound like a smart alec…
but couldnt you just wear it??
Does it go over or under the Tilley?