I have a Old Town Dirigo, it has a water tight hatch in stern and I want to put a float bag in the bow. Whats the best way to measure so I get correct size? Also any ideas on best float bags?
TIA
Dave
Sit in it and measure how much room is left in front of your feet, length and width. That will give you a sense of the size. But you also need to figure out how to secure it. Just jamming it in wouldn’t work. Without being secured to something, the float bag(s) pop right out in an actual capsize no matter how tight you think you had it in there.
I’ve been real happy with a Harmony rec bag that I keep in the bow of my Prijon Combi. I’ve had less luck with the gray NRS bags (even though more expensive). In fairness, the new NRS bags seem to be doing fine in my ww boats.
Harmony Gear has vinyl float bags designed for recreational kayaks (without a vertical foam pillar) in three different sizes, one of which should work:
http://www.harmonygear.com/products/9730/Harmony-Medium-Rec-Bag-Vinyl.html
Most modern whitewater kayaks no longer have room for forward flotation. The front bags designed for older whitewater boats were usually all “splits”, meaning you bought a pair and one went on each side of the central pillar.
Be aware that the sizes listed for these bags are measurements with the bags uninflated and flat. The dimensions will shorten by a few inches when inflated.
You may be able to use the machine screws that secure the fronts of your foot brace tracks to secure the anchor grommets on the bag.
Pblanc is right about just getting a rec bag. If you aren’t sure of which size, get a larger bag than you think. It will fill and form to the inside of the boat if larger, where a smaller bag can only fill as large as the bag’s size.
And make sure it is attached some how, or it will just float out when the boat gets flooded.
As the others have said measure the space length and width. Figure a bag a little bigger than the space so inflated it presses against the sides. You can glue on patches with pad eye straps, or some of those carbon fiber eye-straps, but for a plastic rec kayak that might be too difficult since you have to get it right for them to stick. I have just drilled a hole up front and threaded some 550 cord to the d-ring on the bag. Tie the other end off above the hole in the deck. Make the deck hole a tight fit for the cord. It can leak a little since the bag is the floatation not the compartment. I brought mine back and tied it to the eye straps that run the bungee rigging. That way when I take the bag out there is enough line so you don’t loose the run and have to thread another.