coastal paddling
A sea kayak has two bulk heads that are air tight so that when you do a wet exit the kayak floats with the two front and back air chambers. You can just get back in and start paddling with a cockpit full of water, or it’s easy to empty out with an assisted rescue. On the other hand your kayak with one bulk head will fill up and there will be a lot of water to try and empty out. It’s possible to do this from the deck of another kayak but more difficult. I also wouldn’t want to try and pump out that much water. It may not even be possible with more water pouring in.
Coastal paddling and especially ocean paddling takes a higher level of skill, experince and knowledge. With a large fetch of water (that’s a wide open stretch of water) conditions can change. There are also risk in the surf zone.
You may get lucky and it is dead clam and stays dead calm. You might also not get lost, dehydrated, etc.
Only a very skilled kayaker would rely on their own ability to self rescue. Yes you want to have the ability but there is much more safety with an experienced group because a T rescue is so reliable and easy in every condition except the surf zone.
Even if you could roll the ww boat, you would still be at a disadvantage if you had to wet exit.
There are some kayak groups down here but for that kind of trip they require a sea kayak so you can keep up and be able to rescue.
I see a lot of people out in rec kayaks but if they tip over they will need to swim to shore.
You could still plan some trips with what you have on more protected creeks, take out points, if you plan the tides and understand the weather patterns.
I’m just trying to answer your question so that you more aware of the risk.
Fusion outfitting
It has been a while since I took a close look at the Fusion’s outfitting but if I remember correctly it has a sliding solid bulkhead in front that is mounted to the hull by two perforated metal straps laterally that are secured by a pair of machine screws and wingnuts on each side.
If so, you can get a small airbag or pair of airbags in it without removing the bulkhead. Slide the bulkhead as far sternward as possible and there will be a sufficient gap around the bulkhead to slide the uninflated bag(s) in. Then you just blow them up using the long filler tubes and readjust the bulkhead.
I know a guy who has paddled the Fusion on the Class IV upper Youghiogehny River. It will handle any class of whitewater you are capable of. It is also pretty easy to roll.
We have couple w/that setup
Of WW boats I mean. But even that doesn't sound exactly like anything that NJkayaker described. In both of our boats like that the foam piece is not something that can be separated from the boat without losing footpegs essentially, and I am (maybe foolishly) assuming that the OPer is using footpegs or the bulkhead equivalent.
So the only way I could figure that entrapment could have been raised as an issue was if there was no supporting foam up front, aligned along the keel or sideways, that would anchor the things. This is not an uncommon setup in the hybrids.
I have not raised any issues about the boat's capability in WW, perhaps other than to actually list the manufacturer's own statement. My point, which seems to have been entirely missed, is that the configuration of this boat could be different from the WW boats we have in a way that could have complicated the flotation up front. Especially since the manufacturer's web site is not clear on the situation in the front of the boat.
I am beginning to think I should upload a photo of our own Pyrahnnas...
Sea Kayak Carolina
You might contact Sea Kayak Carloina. They have a very active class schedule, and meetup group, and do paddle in the Edisto area frequently. If you search them, their site will come up.
There are naturalists and kayak tour groups on Edisto who could help you plan, or make your trips more interesting too.
No footpegs
Celia: "OPer is using footpegs or the bulkhead equivalent."
The fusion doesn't come with foot pegs. It uses the bulkhead instead.
So now it’s really confusing
Then it has the movable bulkhead like two of our WW boats? Or fixed foam blocks like in my Inazone.
Ok - I give up then. I have no idea how entrapment could have been raised as an issue to the Oper. If it is the movable bulkhead, split bags hold nicely behind that. If there are stacked foam blocks like in the Inazone, the argument would be that there wasn’t room.
Do you have any ideas?
This -> movable bulkhead …
This -> "Then it has the movable bulkhead like two of our WW boats?"
Thanks
So split bags would displace water and fit in there fine, not a bad thing if OPer can’t figure out how to use the extra foam she apparently got with the boat.
I also replied above. I looked over my posts and can’t see where I said what you apparently thought I did.
Yes
Celia: “So split bags would displace water and fit in there fine, not a bad thing if OPer can’t figure out how to use the extra foam she apparently got with the boat.”
You could put an airbag in front. Personally, I would not find it that convenient to do so (especially considering that the WW people I paddled with don’t store their air bags permanently in the boat!).
The bulkhead-shaped foam-pad has adhesive on one side. Once you pick the bulkhead appropriate to your leg-length, you stick the foam pad on the bow side of the bulkhead.
I don’t.
I virtually never remove them and most of the whitewater K1 paddlers I know don’t either. You do need to let some air out to allow expansion in hot weather, of course.
Yes
(I was trying to imply that removing them might be somewhat unusual.)
foam
I was thinking of the same with mine. Outfitting it currently, just picked up some (very expensive!) minicel.
Let me know any ideas or suggestions for outfitting.
BTW mine has the TERRIBLE river tour outfitting. I was trying to find out if i could find some connect 30 to install in it???
Fusion RT has footpegs
The connect 30 may not but the two models are very different. The critical assessments of the comments are not needed by the way (@ 1 poster) This post is not specifically requesting the detailed in’s and out’s of every aspect of my boat, and it’s kind of annoying to see someone actually stray from my original question by starting, what seems like battles.
I am interested to know how you’ve outfitted your boat but it sounds like you have the connect 30?
No foam.
No foam comes with the RT model.
Fusion is either connect 30 outfitting or river tour outfitting.
connect 30 - may or may not have pegs. Sounds like the other guy says no.
MY boat however, the river tour, has adjustable cheap footpegs that I despise and would love to replace with a bulkhead when I get the courage to tear it apart.
Need to swim for tip over?
Can’t I just flip my boat and re enter?
Re getting foam in there
To the OPer, agree about foot pegs. Not only are they easier to slide off of when rolling, the things hurt the balls of my feet after a while. Our boats are all set up with foam bulkheads, the WW and the sea kayaks, but if it would work safely you used to be able to get pads from YakPads that go over the foot peg and cushion your feet. Disclaimer - I've never used them so I don't know if they add some slippery factor that would not be practical. The solid foam block, if you can find it, is much better.
If you have the rails for the foot pegs, you may be able to purchase the full other outfitting kit and put it right in. Dumb question - have you asked about that with the outfit from whom you bought these boats?
That also explains the entrapment comment you got. With the solid bulkhead wall for your feet, float bags will not escape forward. With the smaller foot pegs, anchoring is more of a need. The split bags that it appears you would use are narrow.
I just tried to find a thread here talking about what glue you would use to get foam in there if you can't score the pre-shaped stuff intended for this boat, but no luck. For the composite boats we use Dap Weldwood Contact Cement, but I seem to recall it's not so secure for poly surfaces. Ask the local outfitter - they probably even have the stuff around if you are in a heavy WW area.
Re the swim versus re-enter bit above - in waves or similar dimensional water, the bouncing around of the boat and refilling of the cockpit from splash could cause the re-entry you have mastered in the pool to fail. It would definitely not work in surf, and in open water conditions it would depend on how bad things were and how tired you were. Odds are you wouldn't have capsized because you were on the top of your game, but because you were over your head or just plain beat from battling whatever conditions.
You can reduce this risk though by following earlier suggestions. That is, launch from a protected area like Bennet Point and look up tides so that you are crossing to the islands when it is slack. That way you are less likely to get moved out to open water, where things could get unrecoverable, by an outflowing tide. Or paddle on an incoming tide, where it appears the biggest risk is getting shoved into a mud flat. Messy, but safe.
Weldwood will work
I have used DAP Weldwood flammable contact cement to glue foam hip and knee pads into poly kayaks for years.
Every so often, a pad will loosen up a bit. If so, you just glue it back.
I have the Connect 30
"I am interested to know how you’ve outfitted your boat but it sounds like you have the connect 30?"
OK, so, the Connect 30 outfitting comes with the bulkhead.
Talk to Pyranha
"I was trying to find out if i could find some connect 30 to install in it???"
If you are just talking about getting the bulkhead, I’d send an email to Pyranha.
I suspect that the metal brackets for the bulkhead and the foot braces fit in the same holes in the hull.
And by the way
Thanks for your patience with the digressions. Some days it just gets like this on any board - it’s the environment.