I’m just curious if there might be a crank type gizmo that would help load a rope back into a throwbag more quickly than the tedious finger-stuffing method. Anyone ever heard of such an item? Seems like it would be feasible. A couple rubber wheels and a crank… Thanks.
I thought about it, but…
…couldn’t come up with anything.
Use the time for a review
(I was going to say “post-mortem”, but that might be too close to the real case.)
While your fingers stuff the bag, ask the guy who got the other end, “What happened out there? What worked? What would you do different?”
(Or wait for the coffee water to boil, as appropriate.)
I can’t imagine…
I can’t imagine myself digging through a bucket, or bag to retreive some gizmo to restuff my throw bag after using it.
In the time it would take for me to retrieve the gizmo, I could already have restuffed the throw bag. Takes me about 3 minutes. In a pinch, if the distance is not too great, a partially stuffed throwbag can be quickly redeployed. In one unique instance, I actually pulled in 2 people with the same throw bag, at the same time. Each was holding onto a different end of the rope.
Even if there were such a gizmo, I wouldn’t spend money to buy one, or haul it around.
BOB
just becauce you wouldn’t buy it
doesn’t mean other people wouldn’t buy it.
A lesson I learned in another line of work is - don’t charge what you would pay, charge what other people will pay. Along the same lines - don’t limit ideas to what you would buy, expand them to fit what other people will buy.
paddlemore
– Last Updated: Nov-03-08 11:45 AM EST –
I stated my personal opinion.
What others want, what others purchase, what amount they spend is entirely up to them; that goes without saying.......
Would "you" personally be interested in buying a "throw bag restuffer" if one were available?
How much would you be prepared to pay?
What would be the benefit of owning such a piece of equipment, other than the obvious.........not spending a couple of minutes of your time restuffing the throw bag manually?
Yes, I understand that an item's price may be excessive, when compared to it's function.....real vs perceived needs.
I don't think the original poster is serious(they might be?), but while I sit & await the plumber........I am willing to play, or even argue needlessly, over a matter of little to no consequence.
When restuffing a throw bag manually, I often visually inspect the rope for wear, or damage. BUT, that might not be necessary with a more advanced/technical version($$$$)of the "mechanical rope stuffer".
I'm sure one could be produced that was outfitted with a small video camera. It would visually inspect the rope for you as it restuffs your throwbag.
You could review the video inspection at a time of your own choosing.
BOB
This Was “Tongue in Cheek,” Right?
The time “Savings” from such a device would be minimal IF ANY. Better idea is too periodically “Play” with your throwbag; toss it at objects preferably in the water. This gives you practice with the throwing AND stuffing of the bag. And, from what I’ve noticed, most people need at least SOME practice. When your body is “Charged” with adrenalin in an emergency situation is not the time to learn how to throw or stuff it (sorry for turning this into a “Public service announcement.”) WW
Kokatat
Kokatat makes a tow rope for sea kayaking with a winding plate similar to kites or handlines for fishing. It’s grown on me.
True, nice idea
except tow ropes are not deployed in the same fashion as a throw rope. The winder on my tow rope would not work at all for a throw rope situation.
What about a foot long dowel?
Or piece of a broom handle? The truth is this: I’ve tried this with limited success. Say 30 sec. to wind and 30 sec to wriggle it into the bag. You save a couple of minutes (which may be all you’ve got) but if wound up hastily, the coil can end up too tight and have too much friction to deploy smoothly. The other thingis, as already said, I can’t imagine taking the time out of a rescue to look for a gizmo. I suppose a rod could be stored WITH the bag on some rigs though.
Jim
Take a support monkey…Train it to
reload your bag, swim for things you drop. You could be the first.
I remember the Old Days
When the only throw bag on the market was a Wildwater Designs by Charlie Walbridge. I had a long bag, making it easy to re-stuff: the “stuffing stroke” was about a foot long, so it went pretty quickly.
Now the bags are designed to look good on display and are much slower to stuff.
Tows for sea kayaking are another story all together. The NorthWater I have expands to make things easier.
Jim
P.S. …
There are alternative methods(I know of 3)you can use to make a second throw; without having to take the time necessary to fully restuff a throw bag.
While not as effective (in my opinion) as a fully stuffed bag, they will work in a pinch; especially if the distance from the rescuer to the victim is not too great.
BOB
I actually find myself agreeing with
– Last Updated: Nov-03-08 5:43 PM EST –
"thebob" for once.
Davejjj: If you're seriously into whitewater kayaking,
why on earth would you want yet another piece of apparatus
to have to tote around with you?
The throw bag, when properly executed, is already
simplicity itself. But hey, if you can invent and/or market something
that some gearhead suckers would want to buy(like say, a solar powered automatic
winch-rope retrieval system for the terminally lazy)--Then hey, more power to ya!
North Water
Talk to the gang at North Water. The crap job for their new hires is stuffing the throw bags. Every bag is stuffed by hand at the factory. If there was ever a place for a mechanical stuffer, that’s it. But they don’t. Why, because mechanically stuffing will cause knots, stress the rope, uneven loading, and other mishaps that the human touch doesn’t.
Yeah, it’s not a fun job, but you’ll get good at it and it will suck less.
That is right…
You can quickly gather loops and throw that for a second toss. I would highly recommend a swiftwater rescue course if you are at all interested in being really useful in the event of an emergency on the river.
Dogmaticus
simple solution
if you throw the bag, have the person you haul to shore re-stuff the bag. if you are on the receiving end, you re-stuff the bag. standard operating procedure up here in the northwoods.
and don’t forget - if you swim, you have to do a booty beer to appease the river gods, and in extreme cases you need to do a drain-plug beer.
easy killer
It seemed like davejjj was dreaming up ideas and you were rather negative towards them, or maybe being realistic. I just like to see dreams like that flourish.
As mentioned in a post further down a factory setting would be perfect for the idea. It could be set up so that it doesn’t knot, or stress the rope. And you could visually inspect the rope while it goes in the bag.
Another place it might be useful… instructional/program facilities - to pack the bags after the rope is strung out to dry.
You could also hook it up to a rope measurer so you could measure out the exact amount of rope (while putting together the bag and packing it).
Just a few ideas.
Would you let the pilot who crashed
the plane restuff your parachute? Just askin.
Dogmaticus
well,
would you fly with a pilot you don’t trust to stuff your chute?