hey Frank
comparing a Pungo to a canoe has some merit.
ingenious ideas, but gotta ask.
can a person do all this while swimming? I mean if the Pungo capsizes in water over a person’s head. We are talking Black Lake after all, at least for part of the trips the OP wants to take.
A 5 gallon bucket even half full of water is around 20 lbs. Doable for many but can be difficult for people w. less upper body strength, weak lungs, etc. esp. if they have to do it while they are floating.
Not criticizing - just trying to be sure I understand.
If by sneaking on the shoreline you mean staying in shallow water where the OP can stand up and get some footing to bail, that is something else entirely.
an electric pump in a Pungo… the deluxe version 
I can reenter a solo canoe
with the assistance of a double blade a paddle float and a 14 loop of rope–a stirrup.
Emptying the boat is not usually fruitful by flipping it when I am alone in deep water…I have better luck with sloshing the boat back and forth, but tumblehome curls the water back on itself. Ergo I often have a half full boat. But with the stirrup and the float and a pump I can stand on the stirrup and empty the boat (enough so its not unstable) and reenter.
Needless to say this is not a good idea in cold water but try it a boat friendly beach. A little practice has its rewards.
Spot satellite messenger
Since you have a medical condition but still like to go out alone in some remote places, and are legitimately concerned about safety, I can recommend the Spot satellite messenger in case you ever need help.
Another product that might work for you, I forgot the name of. It is a self inflating bladder with a handle to help you “roll” up. You pull the handle out of deck mounted container, and that triggers the bladder to inflate, and you hoist yourself up as if doing a bow rescue. I have heard favorable comments about it, but don’t know about it myself. I don’t know if it would work with such a wide heavy boat as a Pungo.
If your lung condition is serious enough to really slow you down, it might also be a problem with any type of self rescue. Perhaps some lessons would help - the larger Tsunamis I have paddled are extremely stable in my experience.
I sympathize with your situation, and would probably be doing the same as you. I think that your safety concerns are well thought out, and wish you luck.
Wow! Can’t wait
to check out the stuff for folks with disabilities. Thanks!!
Thanks for
the info. I’ll keep that in mind and at least take an online look at the Eddy’s. Meanwhile, I can give you a great deal on a brand-new Pungo. ;O)
bucket doesn’t fill with water
I think he meant that the bucket with air is sealed and so never gets water… it’s just like any other buoyancy bag only in bucket form.
Hey, thanks,
Friendlyfire. I will check out the club–sounds like a good possibility. Everything that everybody has contributed has been very helpful. The absolute most encouraging thing of all is your last sentence, Friendlyfire. You just made my day! Thanks so much.
OK, Frank. That sounds like
a good idea. What is a gamma lid, and more importantly, where do I get one? I think I have a 5-gal. bucket in my garage.
I agree about the paddle float. I was trying to find a really wide one but haven’t been able to find one that looks particularly wide. Any suggestions? Thanks.
Not sure what you mean
by a double blade. Did you mean a float on both blades?
Foam Float
You can make your own and size it as you wish or buy one of the many premade such as NSI’s: http://www.northshoreinc.com/store/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=0&idproduct=177
Very first thing I heard about the SPOT
was from two outdoor enthusiasts: “DON’T get a SPOT!” Decided to do a little investigation, and after reading some critical reviews decided they were right–the SPOT could easiy turn out to be ROT. Check out these reviews at Amazon, including one by a pilot and one by a Coast Guard Rescuer:
http://www.amazon.com/Spot-Satellite-Messenger-GPS-Tracking/product-reviews/B000YTZV74/ref=cm_cr_pr_hist_1?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=0&filterBy=addOneStar
Granted, there are some OK reviews, too, but I’m not into betting my life on the odds. The SPOT idea is great; if it were reliable, it would be perfect for my needs.
I looked at Roll-aid’s BackUp device a while back. Considered getting it, but when I read that it’s not quite as easy to use as the ad makes it look, AND I saw the price ($150, if I recall), I decided it would be better to try to learn to roll on my own first–at least to get the mechanics of it down, even if I can’t do one successfully. Once I get the mechanics figured out, then I think the BackUp might be appropriate. So that’s what got me to wondering about rolling a Pungo. From everything I’ve read, I think I’ll work on trying to roll the Tsunami and simply re-enter the Pungo using Frank’s bucket idea along with a paddle float & stirrup.
Wow–if that NSI one is as wide
as it looks, it would be perfect! I’m going to e-mail them for the dimensions. If I could figure out a good way to make it stay on the paddle, I have a big foam boggey board that would be great for a paddle float. I already carry it with me as a just-in-case aid. I tried using it under the paddle when I was practicing trying to re-enter, and it helped a lot…as long as I could keep it from slipping out from under the paddle. Guess I can work on trying to come up with something. Meanwhile, I’m hoping that the width of that NSI one is not an illusion.
SPOT… depends on audience
I think any would agree that something like an EPIRB is better for getting help fast. The problem (as I understand) is that they are a) more expensive and b) all or none in that when you do summon help you only get a big response. It would be interesting to learn more about whether these points are wrong or how other devices compare.
So the SPOT may often be good for getting help (even 50% is better than nothing) and your friends can have fun watching your progress (even if some OK points get lost or delayed).
It doesn’t help to think of things as good vs bad, works vs doesn’t as there are many shades of gray. The more risk you undertake (solo a 1000 miles from civilization vs just off the coast of a US city) the more you want to pay for the extra reliability and major rescue response. The SPOT is good for adventures for which folks have often gone without any such rescue aid and typically lived to tell of it.
u r right, but
I read again and Frank says he that 5 gal bucket plus a smaller a baler bucket.
But
why not just put in what is meant to be there - two float bags sized for a river runner which offer more buoyancy and, being pointed fit the kayak’s bow much more closely than a bucket. Thus taking up more room against incoming water.
Some of them, like Wildwassers’ Overnighters, are combination floatbag/drybag, so that items like lunch, meds, change of clothes, etc. can ride along. They are offered in two sizes. I have the shorter ones which fit nicely in the ends of my seakayak. Redundant buoyancy plus really sweet for daytrips or multinighters.
She may already have a bilge pump (pretty standard for kayakers)) So the baler bucket is redundant. Not a bad thing.
Yes, you got it
about the expense and the PLB’s being a big-guns-only device. As for the SPOT, I don’t want to wait till I’m stuck somewhere to find out that there’s no contact at that particular point. Been there, done that. (Finished a trip later than I’d intended, then found my car battery dead on a dark abandoned road…with no cell pnone contact. Believe me, it ain’t fun.)
question is… what alternative
When you got back late and found your battery dead you could do nothing (maybe not too bad to walk or wait), or use something like EPIRB and mobilize 100 people and helicopters, or use a cell but only if you have service. For that level of emergency and assuming cell and marine VHF isn’t an option I think I would either pick being on my own or a SPOT depending on money and my general feeling about gadgets. Even if SPOT was only 50% reliable it might save you a long walk and may be fun for family to watch your progress (even if they miss an OK now and then). So assuming SPOT is no good, what are you now considering??
"I have a friend whom I am sure can"
Him can? Whom is he?
tippy?
most Tsunami owners would not characterize it as such, esp. the 125. even the skinny 135 model feels solid whether at rest or on edge. as you get more seat time you will probably feel differently. the Pungo’s a fine rec boat though!
Just TRY it!
Get a big dry bag. You need one anyway. Get a big sealed 5 gallon bucket (one with a gamma lid will be great for camping but is not needed to start) then get in the water to try it.
If I recall you can just roll the boat to get the water out. Just like you do with most canoes that have float bags. Then you enter and bail or more like sponge the rest out.
Without flotation and a practiced rescue plan a canoe is a death sentence in cold deep water as well. A Pungo is just a really stable and fast 12 foot decked solo canoe. Folks take 12 foot solo canoes in white water and surf all the time. If your going to do that with your Pungo you’ll find it does not surf so well. If you learn how to surf it and run white water with it, then you’ll want to do what all other open canoers do that frequent the really rough stuff. Install better flotation and an electric bilge pump system.
I really liked my Pungo for what it was. But it is a horrible boat for shallow water. the deep v entry that made it so great in a chop got hung up on every rock in my shallow rocky river. Tandem canoes would paddle right by me while I was dragging the Pungo. after enough of that I sold it as I have a Sea Kayak and a bigger tandem canoe with a pump for open water.