I don’t care what you paddle or where you go. By the end of the first day (preferably the first hour) in a boat you should have some idea of how to self rescue. Finding the tipping point and dealing with the results in a sheltered/controlled environment is where folks need to start. It’s simple: “What are you going to do if you flip over?”
I just finished volunteering some paddle instruction and we didn’t start in the boat. We swam a little bit (class II ww) then practiced wet exits and then started paddling. This individual had already swam out of a raft on the gauley (but not with me) so I made it a progression and had him swim with a kayak paddle and had him use his body for a ferry angle. My point is that depending on folks comfort and skill level, you can make these skills harder or easier. I didn’t skip the basics- wear a pfd, dress for immersion (temp), and save the partying for off the water. Instead, I stressed these points even if they were already known to the student.
Unfortunately, these basic safety steps are sometimes skipped. As good as the video was (that evaluated different rec boats), I would have liked to have seen the shop owner swamp/flip the rec boats and swim them to shore. He talked about it (he liked the safety of the SOT and hatched boat) and mentioned the importance of a protected environment, and at one point even covered secondary stability. All of that related to safety but actually seeing how the boat moved full of water (for self rescue) would have been just as important as how it paddled or the comfort of the seat.
I suspect there are a lot of folks who have bought their own boats that have just sort of skipped the capsize stuff. If you’ve never tipped over and use that as an endorsement for how well your boat handles or your own capabilities, you are missing a key element, self rescue. Some folks just don’t want to hear that their boat doesn’t float well if it is tipped over. They are not receptive to that message.
I’m the guy that suffers needlessly (wrong boat for the environment) but at least I realize I’m doing something sketchy (think canoes in ww without added floatation or ww boats on ocean bays). I don’t use those experiences as an endorsement for a boat type. I understand there could consequences to this approach, and have thought about plan b if things go wrong. There are risks with this approach. I’ve wrapped enough canoes to know.
So yes, some highly skilled and fit individuals (not me) can take a flamingo through class IV but I’m betting it was a whole lot of work getting that pool toy to go where they wanted it to go and I bet they were prepared to swim or deal with the consequences if it didn’t work out.
Boats that aren’t designed to float when swamped are a pain in the a##. I just don’t want them to be more than that (killers). The rec boat world needs more blow up monkeys inside kayaks. So yes, it’s ok to buy a kayak, even a rec kayak, wear a pfd, add flotation to your boat and practice self rescue. At that point it’s not so much about the boat but about the user and paddling education.
The low $ sit inside recboats are frequently the boats that need more flotation. Perhaps Pelican needs to step up awareness a bit on their cheapest offerings and should stamp on the hull “This boat is not designed to float when tipped over” it could also help reduce their liability. To be fair, I’ve seen some improvements to rec boats when it comes to safety.
