fadedred, I still don’t
follow on how do you pick your rope bag from the deck and stuff the rope in without somebody’s help.
From your pix the rope bag is somewhere distant from the cockpit…
bnystrom, I agree with you
– Last Updated: Aug-03-09 2:17 AM EST –
on the ease of stowing a rope on a waist belt system however I deem towing from the waist dangerous in swell.
On flat water and lakes for short tows it might be OK, but not for distance towing.
There is no need to stress one's body with the jerking a loaded kayak can produce.
I am however working on a decent bungee solution for my deck mounted system.
Currently looking at options for a rear mount too but I MUST be able to stow towline without somebody's help.
On the note "snagging on rudders" I have to say that any towline will snag on rudders, just as well my kayaks don't have them...
I carry my second paddle halves up front: http://gnarlydognews.blogspot.com/2009/03/shop-sea-kayak-paddle-park.html
You reach back and free it
from the jam cleat, pull the bag in front of you, stuff it and (carefully) thread the tail of the line back through the fairlead and back to the jam cleat. Raft up if you feel you need the extra stability. I tuck the carabiner under a bungie for quick access. Praise Allah for forward mounted spare paddles with a rear deck mounted tow bag.
If I was to buy a boat mounted bag off the shelf I would go with Valley Sea Kayaks model. All you need. I added a small bronze snap hook to the line at the mouth of the bag so I can daisy chain the line down to about 5 meters. Most of the towing I do is a distance less than 75 yards which is the result of yanking someone out of a rock garden to better water. When I need more line I reach back and unleash the remainder (about a total of 45 feet. I like the tension to grab the other boat faster. 15-18 feet will start pulling faster and keep the extra line out of trouble than if it was 50 feet. Read the Sea Kayaker Magazine safety article “Trouble at the Tombolo” to see what all that line in the water can do to a rescue. I’ve seen line go all over the place in enough situations to keep it tidy.
There is a bungy at the base of my line for shock. My float is 18 to 20 inches from a SS snap hook. I hate threading fat floats through tight deck lines, especially since there are usually 2 kayaks deck lines, all in a rollicking sea.
Whatever carabiners I’ve used, I ground off the hook at the top of the gate. That little hook catches alot of line. Choose a line that floats reasonably. Bonus points for a color you can find in low light. Lastly, I wouldn’t want a boat mounted tow bag to be in front of me. I have no desire to be recasted as Clint Eastwood in Hang em High.
Dogmaticus
I prefer waist mounted, but have a
good deck mounted system I use now and again. I’ve towed in large swell and don’t find it anymore dangerous than deck mounted. Way more versatile, too. However, I agree with you that long towing sessions the deck tow is more comfortable. Handing off a tow is great if that person doesn’t have a bag themselves, but then I’m out a bag and other problems can develop. It would be ideal if all had one but that doesn’t always happen.
Dogmaticus
you guys convinced me to look
more seriously into a tow point that is behind me.
I will still like to have the rope bag in front of me but I will try to design a fairlead that will be anchored behind me.
questions about your mods
Brian,
Nice work on the modifications to the Northwater Tow Rig. A few questions:
- What is the the “quickdraw” you mention in the last photo?
- It seems the Velcro belt closure might be the “weak link” in the chain. How wide is your strap/velcro and have you found it secure enough in real-world tows?
Why did you choose the Northwater system and do you still like it best?
Thank,
Glenn
Gnarley, the commonest scenario for
not having the tow bag in front is the inevitable interruption of your forward stroke when your tow gets broached by a wave and the line goes diagonal or perpendicular to the boat. We’ve already discussed the safety bit, but the annoying interruptions will be more common. Check the threads from the Brits over at www.ukskgb.co.uk. Lots of useful advice there in the almanac.
Dogmaticus
Have you used a waist tow in swell?
I have on several occasions and it’s not a problem. I don’t know what danger you’re imagining, but I haven’t found any. The biggest danger in swell is not having a long enough tow rope, which puts you in a position of possibly being hit from behind by the boat you’re towing. Most commercial tow rigs are long enough to prevent this.
Answers
– Last Updated: Aug-05-09 9:34 PM EST –
A "quick draw" is a short sling that's used with two carabiners for rock climbing. One end has a tight loop that holds the 'biner in position and the other end has a loose loop that allows the 'biner to move. In the photos, you can see the quick draw attached to the end of the rope by the large loop and the 'biner held firmly in the tight loop. Essentially, it provides a handle for getting a grip on the 'biner and it prevents it from moving around on the end of the rope, a common problem when using climbing 'biners on tow rigs. It's really annoying to grab the end of your tow rope and find that the knot has slipped onto the back, gate or large end of your 'biner. It takes precious time to correct it, which can be a problem in emergency situations.
I agonized over trying Velcro, but I used the "Industrial Strength" version and it's held up well for several years. The reason I went this route is that when I wear the rig, I keep the bag in the front and the standard quick release buckle would dig into my back. The Velcro setup is very comfortable and has given me no trouble at all when towing. Keep in mind that it overlaps ~12", which is a lot of gripping surface. If I was ever subjected to enough force to cause it to separate, I'd WANT that to happen! Keep in mind that contrary to popular belief, the forces tow rigs exert on a body or boat are in the TENS of pounds at most, not hundreds. A huge amount of strength is not needed in a tow rig and can actually be a liability, as in an extreme situation, it could lead to injury or boat damage.
I chose the Northwater rig because it had the best bag design on the market at the time, but it's been widely copied by others. Several of the modifications I made have been incorporated into the Northwater rigs that you can buy today. I haven't seen anything I like better than their current rigs, but I haven't really been looking, either.
That sounds good, but…
…it takes two hands to do it, one to hold the bag and one to stuff the rope. A waist rig can be stowed with one hand, which can be a critical difference in rough water where taking both hands off the paddle is not an option.
The problem is…
…that you don’t want the rope running beside you. There is too much risk of it fouling your paddle or other gear. In rough water, it could get washed across your body as it deploys, creating a severe entanglement hazard. A tow rope needs to be behind you and preferably taut at all times, though there’s no way to avoid occasional slack.
I’ve seen rigs that have the 'biner clipped within easy reach and the bag behind the paddler and that seems like a reasonable compromise. As for stowing it, Dogmatycus described the standard method for deck tows. I have yet to see a faster method that’s safe.
Towing is a dangerous business and lines in the water should always be regarded as a potential hazard. For safety’s sake, the gear must be well thought out and the skills must be practiced. As with many other paddling skills and gear, most of the time you have lots of room for error, but its under difficult circumstances that you learn the limitation, just when you can least afford them.
I agree with you, which is why I use
a waist tow 90% of the time. The reason I configured my rear deck for a tow is two fold:
- People use that system on occasion and I can have a tow passed to me, no problem.
- secondly, I wanted to explore that side of towing to it’s limits, problems and benefits and found those we are discussing.
Basically, I prefer waist towing in almost all scenarios to rear deck towing. However, there are some nice features to rear deck towing that can come into play and I am familiar with them.
One more thing, on the west coast, I’ve seen wave lengths exhaust even 45 feet of line. I carry 15 feet extra with a simple brass snap hook on one end and a wide bowline on the other. (Crab to crab unhooks each other.) It gives me that extra length in case. I usually describe it as a painter to most folks. I hate full time painters on boats as they snag everything due to wet dry differential in tautness. Thanks for the sticktoitiveness of the things you’ve found useful on the subject, Bryan. Great info for all to digest.
Dogmaticus
Makes sense
Out here on the east coast we don’t get the huge swells that you do out there, so shorter tow lines in the 30’-35’ range are popular, though I still carry a 50 footer daisy-chained to ~30’.
If I actually thought I’d use it, I’d rig my boats for a deck tow, but at this point it would just be extra junk attached to the aft deck. One of the few rigs I’ve seen that impressed me was one that a friend uses. She rigs a cord across the aft deck just behind the coaming, with one end attached to a padeye and the other held in a cam cleat. Her tow rig has a ring on it that slides on this cross-deck cord. That allows it to move left or right to compensate for a towed boat that’s off to one side, as happens when towing across wind and waves. It greatly reduces the torque you would experience with a center-mounted fairlead, improving control of the towing boat. Releasing and resetting it are just as quick as with a standard deck tow. Since you like to experiment, you might want to give this a try.
I like that idea a lot
I will have a good look at my kayaks and see if that would not interfere with the day hatch cover.
One other thing to consider is the torque created by a side pull (on the pad eye and cam cleat) which is much greater than a straight pull (ask any climber when setting up an equalized double anchor that is wide apart and the angle of pull of the rope is not straight on the anchor).
That’s a heck of an idea. nm
I can’t take credit for it…
…and I’m not sure where it originated, but she’s the first person I’ve seen using it.
It actually does work pretty well
I have a deck mounted system for my skin-on-frame which is attached via a small snap-shackle to the line running across the deck behind the coaming (there’s no real deck surface to which I could have mounted a cam cleat). The release cord for the shackle is reachable from the cockpit. The “slidability” factor does make a difference when towing.
While it’s relatively easy to bring the bag forward to reload it after use, I’m considering switching to a waist mounted system both for better control and for the ability to hand off to another tow-er.
I feel there really are pros and cons to both systems.