wish I could easily stow water below
most common approach is to run hydration hose up skirt, but often wearing a paddle jacket outside the skirt would mean hose going all the way up to neck of jacket. This seems awkward especially if wet exiting. I may try to rig something on my PFD though my particular one doesn’t make it real easy.
clean deck club as well
paddle on front deck for easy access, held very fast for surf launches and landings.
less stuff on deck is less stuff to be acted upon by wind and waves.
VHF/flares/whistle/flashlight/watch in pfd pocket.
trade offs to clean deck club
Some of the very best international mentor kayakers have some, some, not allot, but some gear in waterproof small front deck bags, narrow at front, not in way, little windage, etc.
What they shared with me is the following. VHF on back shoulder up high so gets best signal, but quick access mount. Aerial spotter light signal, day smoke, night flare on pfd. Small deck bag waterproof with rocket flare (ocean) additional smoke and water dye in waterproof bag, pump so can pass it to other paddlers, second form of communication cell phone in waterproof use thu container type package.
Their reasoning is that although one may be able to access the stuff on yourself, you should limit how much is on you because it inhibits rolling and reentry. Also, they felt that day hatch access is more difficult under many conditions even rafted up which can be dangerous itself.
Do I agree with this entirely, don’t know yet but it grabbed my attention that these expedition worldly folks felt this way.
Has me thinking at least. I have never used a deck bag and love the glove compartment on my Xcite for just this reason.
I also feel that anything on the deck must be totally secure. And IF the paddle leash is non elastic and quick release type, it is a huge aid in doing assisted rescues, slowing the boat in a capsize from getting away from you, and allows you to retrieve it if knocked over and lose grip. In surf, NO NO NO.
junk on deck is
just asking to be lost.
How often do I have to pick up others stupid water bottle that has been gingerly secured under the front deck bungee cord. Unless one paddles very calm conditions it’s just a matter of time that the stuff will get lost.
Just about every time we go in the surf zone there will be hand held pumps, waterbottles and other junk floating around.
Any item on deck MUST be seriously secured.
I agree with tideplay: manual pumps are a joke in real conditions.
If the sea tossed you in and filled your cockpit chances are that you will have a hard time (read impossible) to empty your cockpit with a manual pump without somebody else supporting you.
Just for giggles: anybody with a hand operated pump try to empty a flooded cockpit in rough conditions (by rough I mean something that would have tipped you into the sea in the first place).
For a serious fit out there must be a hands free way of empting your cockpit.
Most Australian Clubs require that for demanding conditions.
Since I have outfitted 15 kayaks to date with an electric bilge pump I have bothered documenting the process on http://gnarlydognews.blogspot.com/2009/04/shop-electric-bilge-pump-in-kayak.html
Then again, if you paddle sheltered waters close to shore all of the above will make little sense to you.
nice work
nice work on the pump. very nice! 16 gallons per minute is about 130 lbs out of your yawing kayak per minute. cool.
I don’t run tube up skirt
I run it out the side between skirt and coaming. No issues in case of wet exit, etc. Use an Unbottle 100 I keep behind the seat. Tube is long enough, but if not they have extensions. Lays nicely outside along coaming recess and can tuck end under closest bungee if in waves so it doesn’t end up trailing in the water (if I raced I’d clip to PFD so I could access hands free).
I’ve also tried keeping it on bottom between legs or in the under deck bag (fits about perfectly), but behind seat is a lot nicer if you have space there. If I had not room there I might put it in rear hatch secured to/near bulkhead and make a dedicated grommeted hole for the tube. Besides, stuff on deck would roast (though I have made sun tea in bottles while paddling a few times), and I don’t like the weight up there, the clutter, straps, etc. (been there done that when paddling SOT - and rear deck was best place for pack on that, but inside works better with SINK for me).
Wear like backpack? When I have a kayak to haul stuff? Not happening.
Hydration is not optional here and would take a lot of bottles for a long paddle in S FL heat (in summer I’ll bring 3L pack and a couple bottles too as backup (they go in under deck bag).
Having to stop, get bottle out, and open it to drink - means (as Brian mentioned) I don’t drink as often. That quickly translates to not often enough and not enough fluid. When that happens I pay for it with fatigue, injuries, cramps and just poor energy level pretty quickly (though it sneaks up before I realize what’s happening, and well before thirst would indicate). If pushing a decent pace I try to remember to sip at time or distance intervals, thirsty or not. Tube is much better for this.
some good thoughts there
if the VHF is on the back of the shoulder, doesn’t the advantage of the higher position change as soon as you bring it to hand to use it? I do get that a higher position is better for the spotter. All in all I remain partial to a radio secured lower down in the PFD or drytop pocket and better balanced on the centerline of the body.
Day hatches have become the new thing. Now companies like P&H are even putting in a fourth one. Somehow this reminds me of American SUVs and vans, and a count of how many cupholders they offer 
Seriously don’t they protrude into the bulkheaded areas so that people have to pack around them? I suppose like all features it is a tradeoff.
Agree w. gnarlydog about the amount of stuff on the decks that is not secured. It doesn’t even need to be considerable surf. Just 2-3 feet of, say, Lake Superior surf can smack it away. Even with strictly flatwater paddlers an unexpected capsize (perhaps by reaching around for the dayhatch) can result in a
“garage sale.”
Very good suggestion for use of the paddle leash when rafting up in nonsurf scenarious. I’ve always steered clear of bungee paddle leashes for that reason, and mine has the ball at the end which makes release easy, even w. gloved hands.
Very good topic, generates ideas, we can always be smarter about what we carry and how we carry it.
Thanks for posting this, tiderace.
follow up
FF, yes the VHF idea is to better get a signal. Some folks also have a mic that sends and receives once hit a button, so it is hands off communicating. With newer VHF’s that are quite compact and light, less concern about weight high up, but I have similar concern to yours.
Seriously, the glove compartment does not constrict. I wondered about it too. And, at least for inland seas or ocean it means I don’t need to consider a deck bag for those items that I believe I would have a hard time getting to in a day hatch.
Along with the good ideas in this thread about making sure any deck bag is secure is the business of spare paddles.
I see many arrangements that would never hold up to rough water let alone surf. Northwater now makes a paddle holder that I purchased and it is extremely secure, lies flat when not in use and you can reinsert paddles in rough stuff. A modification I have made is to have a quick release wide strap hold the blades rather than the deck bungies. It is quicker off, very secure, and quicker to resecure paddles.
clean deck club
I’ve read many reviews that specifically mention the front deck’s ability to prevent spray coming up into the face. I’ve found that in certain situations, that really can be annoying. In kayak design, it’s as detailed as recessing the deck fittings and the hatch covers on the bow, as those little details make a difference in some situations. Whether it matters or not depends upon whether you find yourself in the specific situation of water washing over the deck causing annoying spray into your face, but those little details can pretty much be undone with something as low profile as a folded paddle float. I’ve had situations in whatever specific conditions where junk on the deck caused the majority of a spray problem. Over time, I quit storing anything up there at all.
Greyak, your solution is
great.
Same here in Australia: a waterbottle would last me probably half an hour. I pack 4 lt MSR Dromedary behind seat with hose for drinking.
I am working on a undeck bag (custom made low profile one) to store water and other items.
Clean deck rule.