Did you practice????

Sounds like its time to open a can of.....

Practiced at Del Valle prior too ocean. Had not practiced with a friend however, as things happen a few weeks before dumping at BH Phil took a header at HMB where common sense prevailed and these boards became invaluable. I was able to talk him back in before he dumped both of us plus learned that in self recue with a tandem one should practice in ideal water.
So I guess both I did by myself and did not with two aboard.

I've no experience in tandem's but our guide in Ketchikan said that he had given up on tandems for his tour fleet because those were the boats that had spills.  It is against first assumptions that doubles would be more prone to spills than singles, but that was his experience.  If that is true then perhaps "self-rescue" is also more than a little more dicey in a double?

Doubles, or in my case a Triple, adds another dimension that you need to take into account.  There is another person in the boat that is leaning independent of how you are and may lean in such a way that you are not used to.  Kind of like riding a motorcycle with a passenger on the back ... it can throw  you out of whack.

It can even lead to some funky "oscillations".  You both lean one way to stabilize, but you're not expecting the other to lean, so  you lean the other way to correct, but your partner leans the other way to correct as well.  Now you're both leaning the other way and again, not expecting it.  So you correct again to the other side, and so does your partner ... you see where this is going.

-Allen

....I said lean the other way

I did lean the other way

No, you leaned the wrong way

No I didn't.  I was leaning the right way and then you said no, the other way...

Yeah, and you went the wrong other way...............

...............burble.........burble..............

It's pretty funny when you are sitting all nice and dry in front of a computer

My very 1st kayak was a double. I got it so I could take CHUB out ( before he was CHUB ). He was 7 or 8 at the time and fascinated by every little thing in the water. If he rode up front the bow would be WAY out of the water so at first I had him in the back. Without warning he would look over the side and really throw things off balance. Never dumped but came awefully close several times. Fortunately he was not very big.
Subsequently if I ever took an adult out I had them ride in the front so I could keep my eye on them and adjust to their movements accordingly.
I was in the market for a single not too long after a few tandem rides.  I got my T160 soon after..

My drifter has the same weight capacity as a malibu 2, and generally boats get less stable as you load them down that makes tandems with two people less stable than a 'fishing' type kayak - not to mention the other guy rocking the boat.   A tandem with 1 person is usually very stable (as long as they're in the middle). 

I practiced a lot with my boats when I got them, HMB, la jolla, fort ross, bean hollow.  Generally if I take a spill that means I need to practice and I'll work in the surf since I'm already wet.  Playing in the surf with the kayak is quite fun and I'd encourage everyone to do so at least a couple times per year.  Perhaps this winter we should have a surf day at linda mar or bean hollow.  The offshore break right outside the hollow could be fun, much like a mini-mavericks.

For sit on tops the only things you need to practice are surf skills, flipping the boat over in deep water and getting back aboard in deep water.

this winter we should have a surf day at linda mar or bean hollow

I think we should really do this - it's fun and yet a great way to get to know your yak Bean Hollow would be more ideal - no surfers to compete with 

We'd fit right in at Linda Mar, getting run over by an out of control 12-15 foot craft is standard fare for that neck o the woods


I nominate one of the state beaches in hmb on a chest high day.  The bean hollow shore break sucks and wouldn't really be surfing and offshore sounds sketchy. 

Didn't need to practice. In the past I practiced righting a canoe and figured a SOT kayak had to be easier. First time out of the kayak was ab diving. It was a bit more difficult than I thought it would be, but not that  big of a deal getting back in.

I'd be up for a surf play date at bean hollow in the future.

Sounds fun.  Cold, but fun.

MolBasser