Adding flotation to Revo

Any advice for adding extra/emergency flotation to a Revo 13, or any kayak for that matter? I see that NRS makes bow Stern specific flotation bags but I also read the many advantages of pool noodles.

For the float bags, do they interfere w the lines?

For the noodles, how do you set them up? Do you glue them in or just simply stuff them in where they fit? How many do you need, and has anyone experienced water coming into the hull w noodles? Curious how they performed

Thanks!!

I use empty milk/water jugs, a beach ball, and my wheeleez wheels in my Revo 16/adventure 16.

I’d worry a little bit about pool noodles getting soggy and taking longer to dry out, though there are a bunch of places I could fit them.

closed fell foam

Pool noodles are cheap, work great and don’t interfere with the rudder lines. I have 5 inside my revo 13. I bent two of them in half for the front hatch which keeps battery box in place and other gear high and dry. For the mid hatch I bent one in half and pushed it up another in half and pushed it down and then I zip tied one in a circle to keep gear in the hull below the hatch from getting away from reach, all works well and they don’t get soggy

Pool noodles are cheap, work great and don’t interfere with the rudder lines. I have 5 inside my revo 13. I bent two of them in half for the front hatch which keeps battery box in place and other gear high and dry. For the mid hatch I bent one in half and pushed it up another in half and pushed it down and then I zip tied one in a circle to keep gear in the hull below the hatch from getting away from reach, all works well and they don’t get soggy

This.

I have as many as will fit inside my Adventure/Revo 16 (at least 10 noodles, I'd guess). Somebody on the Hobie forum found that just a couple of pool noodles is enough to keep a Hobie from actually sinking even when completely swamped, but more is better, IMHO, as they displace water in the worst-case scenario.

They don't get soggy, but the do trap water, which makes it a hassle if you launch anywhere that requires a mussel inspection. In that case, I take them out, dry everything, and only put them back in after (hopefully) passing the inspection.

I use empty milk/water jugs, a beach ball, and my wheeleez wheels in my Revo 16/adventure 16.

I’d worry a little bit about pool noodles getting soggy and taking longer to dry out, though there are a bunch of places I could fit them.

I got some pool noodles and they don’t get soggy at all

The foam flotation which comes with Hobie kayaks and most other kayaks is enough to keep the kayak afloat when it's swamped, but kayak anglers often add a lot of gear to their kayaks.  For example, my downrigger and its weight and base weigh a total of 13 pounds, my battery box weighs almost 7 pounds, and my fish finder, rod holder, rods, and miscellaneous tools add more weight.  And don't forget the weight of all the fish you are hopefully carrying! Those fish don't float.  So a good reason for a kayak angler to add floatation to his or her kayak is to make sure that the kayak and all of its fishing gear will stay afloat if the kayak swamps.  You don't want to end up swimming while watching your kayak and all your fishing gear slowly fade out of sight underwater.

In addition, if you watched the movie "Titanic," you learned that you are better off on top of a floating object than you are in the water.  So perhaps you should add enough flotation to your kayak so it will stay afloat when swamped even when you are sitting in it, surrounded by fishing gear.

If you have problems with items of loose gear sliding forward or backward inside your sit-inside kayak and becoming unreachable when you're on the water, you can jam pool noodles under the rear cargo area and between the scupper holes to corral that elusive gear.  If you jam the noodles between scupper holes, it'll keep them from interfering with rudder lines.

I use the large pool noodles.  I take them out to dry if some water gets inside the hull.

This might be of some help.
http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=75908.0

Please beware though. There are a few very poor suggestions in that thread.
A cushion does not top pool noodles.

Yes Hobie's can sink, jump to 17:50 mins, its good idea to bring a bilge pump: 

I use empty 2 liter soda bottles. They are very bouyant and almost weightless and free. Get 5 or six bottles, put them in a net and try to swim under water with them. 

Yes Hobie's can sink, jump to 17:50 mins, its good idea to bring a bilge pump:

If you have a moderate amount of water in a sit-on-top kayak and the water is relatively calm, you can pump out much of the water with a bilge pump while sitting in the kayak.  But if you get enough water in a sit-on-top kayak, water will fill the cockpit of the kayak from the scupper holes and pedal drive hole and slosh into or cover the hatch between your legs, particularly if you are in rough water.  If that happens, you can get off the kayak and into the water and let another kayaker try to pump water out of the kayak, hoping that with your weight off the kayak it will float high enough in the water so your companion can pump water out of the kayak faster than it sloshes in.  But the kayak probably won't float level, and if the bow or stern sinks underwater, the bilge pump won't work.  The bottom line is that if you get enough water in a sit-on-top kayak, a bilge pump won't work.

If you get enough water in a sit-on-top kayak, you'll need to open a large hatch, probably the bow hatch, turn the kayak upside down, and gradually pull the kayak up on top of one or two other kayaks while the water drains out of the open hatch.  Rod holders and other fishing gear will interfere with that, so you may need to take some gear off the swamped kayak in order to slide it up on the other kayaks.  When the kayak is mostly empty, you can rock it back and forth on the other kayaks and drain out more water.  Then, roll it right-side-up, close the hatch, and slide it back into the water.

The reason the guys in the video couldn't drain water out of the swamped kayak is because they left all the hatches closed.  And when the kayak was full of water, it was very heavy and the stern was sinking, so it was probably real hard to tow.  They were lucky the surf was pretty minor when the made it back to the beach.

Yes Hobie's can sink, jump to 17:50 mins, its good idea to bring a bilge pump:

If you have a moderate amount of water in a sit-on-top kayak and the water is relatively calm, you can pump out much of the water with a bilge pump while sitting in the kayak.  But if you get enough water in a sit-on-top kayak, water will fill the cockpit of the kayak from the scupper holes and pedal drive hole and slosh into or cover the hatch between your legs, particularly if you are in rough water.  If that happens, you can get off the kayak and into the water and let another kayaker try to pump water out of the kayak, hoping that with your weight off the kayak it will float high enough in the water so your companion can pump water out of the kayak faster than it sloshes in.  But the kayak probably won't float level, and if the bow or stern sinks underwater, the bilge pump won't work.  The bottom line is that if you get enough water in a sit-on-top kayak, a bilge pump won't work.

If you get enough water in a sit-on-top kayak, you'll need to open a large hatch, probably the bow hatch, turn the kayak upside down, and gradually pull the kayak up on top of one or two other kayaks while the water drains out of the open hatch.  Rod holders and other fishing gear will interfere with that, so you may need to take some gear off the swamped kayak in order to slide it up on the other kayaks.  When the kayak is mostly empty, you can rock it back and forth on the other kayaks and drain out more water.  Then, roll it right-side-up, close the hatch, and slide it back into the water.

The reason the guys in the video couldn't drain water out of the swamped kayak is because they left all the hatches closed.  And when the kayak was full of water, it was very heavy and the stern was sinking, so it was probably real hard to tow.  They were lucky the surf was pretty minor when the made it back to the beach.

Excellent information!  Can you recommend a bilge pump?  Thanks.

Yes Hobie's can sink, jump to 17:50 mins, its good idea to bring a bilge pump:

If you have a moderate amount of water in a sit-on-top kayak and the water is relatively calm, you can pump out much of the water with a bilge pump while sitting in the kayak.  But if you get enough water in a sit-on-top kayak, water will fill the cockpit of the kayak from the scupper holes and pedal drive hole and slosh into or cover the hatch between your legs, particularly if you are in rough water.  If that happens, you can get off the kayak and into the water and let another kayaker try to pump water out of the kayak, hoping that with your weight off the kayak it will float high enough in the water so your companion can pump water out of the kayak faster than it sloshes in.  But the kayak probably won't float level, and if the bow or stern sinks underwater, the bilge pump won't work.  The bottom line is that if you get enough water in a sit-on-top kayak, a bilge pump won't work.

If you get enough water in a sit-on-top kayak, you'll need to open a large hatch, probably the bow hatch, turn the kayak upside down, and gradually pull the kayak up on top of one or two other kayaks while the water drains out of the open hatch.  Rod holders and other fishing gear will interfere with that, so you may need to take some gear off the swamped kayak in order to slide it up on the other kayaks.  When the kayak is mostly empty, you can rock it back and forth on the other kayaks and drain out more water.  Then, roll it right-side-up, close the hatch, and slide it back into the water.

The reason the guys in the video couldn't drain water out of the swamped kayak is because they left all the hatches closed.  And when the kayak was full of water, it was very heavy and the stern was sinking, so it was probably real hard to tow.  They were lucky the surf was pretty minor when the made it back to the beach.

Excellent information!  Can you recommend a bilge pump?  Thanks.

https://www.austinkayak.com/products/1464/AquaBound-BilgeMaster-Kayak-Bilge-Pump.html

This is what my buddies and I use.  Its been field tested in several rescue assists.  The metal rod pumps water out farther than plastic.

Yes Hobie's can sink, jump to 17:50 mins, its good idea to bring a bilge pump:

If you have a moderate amount of water in a sit-on-top kayak and the water is relatively calm, you can pump out much of the water with a bilge pump while sitting in the kayak.  But if you get enough water in a sit-on-top kayak, water will fill the cockpit of the kayak from the scupper holes and pedal drive hole and slosh into or cover the hatch between your legs, particularly if you are in rough water.  If that happens, you can get off the kayak and into the water and let another kayaker try to pump water out of the kayak, hoping that with your weight off the kayak it will float high enough in the water so your companion can pump water out of the kayak faster than it sloshes in.  But the kayak probably won't float level, and if the bow or stern sinks underwater, the bilge pump won't work.  The bottom line is that if you get enough water in a sit-on-top kayak, a bilge pump won't work.

If you get enough water in a sit-on-top kayak, you'll need to open a large hatch, probably the bow hatch, turn the kayak upside down, and gradually pull the kayak up on top of one or two other kayaks while the water drains out of the open hatch.  Rod holders and other fishing gear will interfere with that, so you may need to take some gear off the swamped kayak in order to slide it up on the other kayaks.  When the kayak is mostly empty, you can rock it back and forth on the other kayaks and drain out more water.  Then, roll it right-side-up, close the hatch, and slide it back into the water.

The reason the guys in the video couldn't drain water out of the swamped kayak is because they left all the hatches closed.  And when the kayak was full of water, it was very heavy and the stern was sinking, so it was probably real hard to tow.  They were lucky the surf was pretty minor when the made it back to the beach.

Excellent information!  Can you recommend a bilge pump?  Thanks.

https://www.austinkayak.com/products/1464/AquaBound-BilgeMaster-Kayak-Bilge-Pump.html

This is what my buddies and I use.  Its been field tested in several rescue assists.  The metal rod pumps water out farther than plastic.

Thanks! Just ordered one from REI.  Any tips on where to mount it  on a Hobie Revo 13?