Here is a picture of the air bag installation on my Old Towne Egret.
Thanks.
Did it make a big difference in your ability to self-rescue?
@PianoAl said:
Here is a picture of the air bag installation on my Old Towne Egret.
Thanks.Did it make a big difference in your ability to self-rescue?
It floats level. Self rescue? Naw I still suck at that, but the boat floats level and it makes all the difference in an assisted rescue.
I think you and the boat are mismatched. Real rec boaters don’t have a care in the world and enjoy drifting and paddle dipping (not purposeful paddling) . They don’t have a clue what self rescue is. They don’t wear wet suits. You seem to speak like a developing sea kayaker.
If your kayak will float level with the airbags installed, as Overstreet noted, yes, it makes a vast difference in self-rescue.
My first ACA lesson (L1) was with a 12-foot Eddyline Skylark rec boat (which has two sealed bulkheads). Your kayak is 26.25" wide; the Skylark is 26" wide. I had to do a paddle float self-rescue with that boat. It wasn’t easy, but I did it.
The next day I had so many bruises it looked like I had been in a boxing match, not a paddling class. That was my first and last self-rescue in that kayak. I moved on to a touring kayak.
What Overstreet said. You and that boat don’t match up. You have the mindset for a better boat.
Here’s my path to this boat.
I had a Kevlar canoe for many years. It weighed 55 pounds. As I got older I was using it less, and it was because I didn’t want the bother of lugging it around, putting it on the truck, etc. Yes, part laziness. Other part: worried about straining my back.
So, I sold it and got a used Advanced Elements inflatable kayak. It met my needs perfectly, and only weighed 16 pounds. It took seconds to pull it off the shelf and into the truck:
I sometimes carried it on my shoulder to get to one inaccessible launching spot. Only problem: It leaked. Six attempts to patch a leak along the seam, then I discovered a pinhole leak in the floor.
I realized that I never deflated it, so why not buy a light, rigid kayak? I got this one from Craigslist for $320.
Bottom line: If I get a longer, heavier kayak, I’ll be losing the convenience that makes me go out more.
I’ll add flotation and see how I like this one. Maybe I’ll upgrade at some point. I’ll get advice here, first.
Did you do self rescues in the canoe?
I understand. I ride my road bicycle way more than I kayak… mainly because biking is so easy and kayaking is such a hassle. Wouldn’t it be great to have access to water from your yard?
@Rex said:
. Wouldn’t it be great to have access to water from your yard?
You get tired of the same water all the time unless you are race training.
You still have to hump all the stuff to the water.
So besides the boat then you have dock, bulkhead, trash pick up, etc to maintain.
Then there are the storms/floods… …
The other option… if someone could produce a nice seaworthy kayak at 14 - 16 feet that weighed 30 pounds… for $320!
Well, you could do that by building a Skin-On-Frame. Maybe around $500 if you bought a kit from Jeff Horton.
@Overstreet said:
Did you do self rescues in the canoe?
I did not. Good point. I’m figuring I’m a little more likely to capsize the kayak, but who knows?
The only time I almost fell out of the inflatable was when I was watching an osprey dive overhead. I leaned back and to the side to keep my eye on him and almost went swimming.
Wouldn’t it be great to have access to water from your yard?
The guy I bought the kayak from had exactly that, but he had a tide window of only about two hours, twice a day. Miscalculate, and he’d be walking on knee-deep mud.
Rex: Anyone with basic competence with hand tools, $300 and workshop space can build something like a 25 pound 15’ Cape Falcon F-1 skin-on-frame kayak. I have an 18’ long skin-on-frame that weighs 31 pounds. And I recently bought two 14’ long 28 pound Pakboat Swift folding kayaks used for $300 each.
This topic looks like a copy of what I asked sometime ago. I had a Pelican that I once waterlogged to the point of impossible self-rescue. From that point it escalated quickly into getting a used sea kayak with bulkheads and selling the Pelican. I did a bunch of self-rescues with the “new” boat and and at it’s worst it’s swamped to a degree where it’s a little unstable. Certainly good enough to get in and pump. Perhaps with a little support from a paddle with a float, but I could certainly do without that. With a little practice I am beginning to be able to dump most of the water out before getting in which certainly reduces the pumping effort.
Give me a minute, I will look up the topic…
EDIT: Here is the topic: https://forums.paddling.com/discussion/2936205/improve-flotation-of-a-10-rec-kayak
and the following decision advice: https://forums.paddling.com/discussion/2936213/sea-kayak-recommendation#latest
EDIT2: interestingly, since I managed to sell the Pelican I only spent 200$ canadian extra for the Cape Horn, the amount I would have spent on NRS bags and the hardware to secure them. And then there’s lack of deck lines and a properly fitting skirt.
I’ve purchased two NRS flotation tubes that should effectively fill up the aft space. I’ll try that out, and if it’s not enough, I’ll do the same for the bow.
the cheap way to go is with pool toys or beach balls to take up space… You can stuff them in pretty tight to take up space. They are just hard to reinflate with out taking them out. The beach balls are kind of nice because they come in different sizes and you can cram the smaller ones in toward the end of the boat for a tight fit.
Thanks Willowleaf. I think when I finally work up the courage to build my own boat I’m going to try the Shrike. It’s got bulkheads like store-bought but mostly it’s just so damn pretty.
