I bought a pair of waste elbows with the plans to install them on the front deck of either my plastic Looksha IV or Looksha Sport (will do one, then get some more and do the other once I know it all works). The paddle shafts look like they would fit just fine into the elbows, but haven’t figured out how to attach the waste elbows to the deck. Suggestions?
I am not adverse to drilling holes in the boat (already did that to install clips to keep the bilge pump in the cockpit).
ps - for those that don’t know plumbing stuff, the waste elbows I have look kind of like this - http://images.orgill.com/200x200/6107585.JPG - except they are white PVC.
What we did…
Put the holes into the waste pipes, near the bottom. Then undo and rerig the deck bungy cord and run it thru them.
Attached to bungee in the front
I don’t know the layout of your bungees, but our Valley and QCC boats boat have a short section of bungee running across the stem of the deck. I drilled holes in the waste elbow and ran the bungee through the holes, pulling it tight enough so that there is some freedom of movement, but not too much.
You have to have some give in the attachment point so you can flip the waste elbows up to get into the front hatch.
no bungees or deck lines
Currently, there isn’t any bungees or deck lines up in front of the hatch. Only thing there is a bolt which holds the carrying toggle (which is not close to the spot where the paddle holders would need to be installed).
without bungees in front of the hatch
you will need to get creative.
If you have your heart set on front paddle holders, get a Deck Bungee kit from Carlisle Paddle Gear ( http://www.carlislepaddles.com/product/accessories/rigging_repair.aspx ) and install it where you need the bungee.
I installed paddle holders recently and don’t like my configuration. Each paddle holder is a separate piece. I would rather have a 1 piece ‘U’-shaped holder to slide under the bungees. When I do that I am going to notch the top sides so the Bungee has a groove to rest in.
what about…
every time i read about these paddle holders i wonder if someone has tried…
take the split and with the blade facing the bow, slide the butt of the split under that bungie farthest away from the cockpit…now spin the split horizontally and slide the blade end of the split under the deck bungie closest to the cockpit.
that arrangement has been very secure for me under some very rough conditions.
Instead of the Carlisle kit
the Valley-style surface deck fittings will give you more versatility than the Carlisle pad eyes. You can run both a perimeter line and bungee through one fitting. Plus I prefer one bolt to two rivets, but that’s just me.
If no bungies up front
– Last Updated: Apr-26-08 10:12 AM EST –
Agree w/above - if there are RDF's forward of the hatch and you can replace what is there with Valley fittings, you'll get a spare hole that you can use to run another bungie. Of course it's no go if the Valley fittings won't work.
Other than that, you'll have to find a way to work with a shorter run of bungie. Or if it might work, I usually put one split front and the other on the back deck. No great theory there, I just was in a rush one day to get launched and slammed the spare in that way. I quickly discovered that it simplified handling the chart etc and it left me out of the often vehement discussions about whether the dratted things should go front or back, since I had made everyone somewhat happy. One piece (I put the longer up front) should also be enough to rip off and roll if I keep my wits about me. (tho' this a place where a GP really shines)
As to securing them only with bungies - depends on the boat. My 16' boat, a Vela, is like this one, and doesn't have a run of bungie in front of the forward hatch. Since it is over a foot shorter than the Explorer LV, it really could use something in front of the forward hatch to emulate the run that is closest behind that hatch in the Explorer because the Vela's rounded deck really lets things slide around more. The sum of this is that the bungies by themselves simply don't hold paddles as securely as they would on the Explorer. And that's accounting for having completely replaced the rigging on the boat last spring.
It has been tried and holds the paddle
but try getting it back in that position, by yourself, while sitting in your kayak in rough water.
The big question is how do you store your spare paddle after you have used it?
Some people pop their deck and throw the halves in the cockpit.
rick
this would be absolutely worthless for solo paddling as there is no way to return a split to the spare paddle holder while sitting in the cockpit.
Using a waste arm allows one not only to store the paddle split, but also return a split to storage.
One of the scenarios we practice in 4-star training is to capsize, retrieve a split, and then roll up with it. If your paddles are too hard to retrieve off the deck, it isn’t going to happen.
I agree with others
I looked at the kit, and the first thing I noticed was that it used rivets. I prefer bolts. Figured I could replace those (or better yet, just up and buy some sort of eye, as I already have bungee cord from a prior project).
Currently, I carry the spare on my back deck, but I want to move it so that I can more easily swap paddles during a trip. I am setting it up where I have one paddle (a cheaper aluminum one) which I use for surf, rock gardens, etc., and one for distance. So, being able to put a paddle in and out while seated in the boat is important, as is the paddle staying put in surf. So it sounds like the trick with the bungees won’t work well for me.
yeeessss
do the same things…and if you NEED to retrieve a split, then you aren’t going to be too worried about putting the other one back, are you? it’s broken, gone or otherwise in such condition that you NEEDED to retrieve your split.
if you still NEED to put one back, you can still slide it under the bungies and then affix it a later date…
and…if you’re in water rough enough to do all this, why are you alone?
not saying the pipe receptacle thing doesn’t work…just seems like “more” to me.
Has anyone tried …
Gluing raft d-rings like the ones at NRS.com. they also have clip buckles w/ straps that look interesting. I have no idea how they will stick to poly