FLOTATION poll

Flotation cushions beat pool noodles.  You can toss one to someone in need or use one yourself in dire straits... and you can get them for about the same cost as a pile of pool noodles.

pool noodles rob you of the sheer adventure , the purist risk factor ,of deep ocean kayaking

I don't kayak fish to risk my life so I take all feasible precautions.  Besides, it's a real pain to try to get a waterlogged kayak to shore even if it doesn't sink; I've had that experience due to leaky hatches.  I have about 20 pool noodles in my kayak and I have a pump, a VHF, and a locator beacon.

pool noodles rob you of the sheer adventure , the purist risk factor ,of deep ocean kayaking

Yes, but who wants to kayak deep in the ocean?

drill a small hole even , ads to the adventure , waste no time.. limit out..

   Aeromarine  https://www.aeromarineproducts.com/product-category/pour-foam/

    Sells pourable closed cell foam.     Mix and pour into any cavity.   Or you could mix it in a plastic bag, set the bag where you want it to  let the foam expand in place.   You'd get the added benefit of stiffness by filling cavities you can't use anyway..   ( Like where your straps compress the hull )   

  The 2# density would be good.

drill a small hole even ...

Go big or go home!

 A pro flotation article and a recovery technique that could help someone rescue a flooded boat.
http://www.useakayak.org/recoveries_rescues/cleos_needle2.html

Thanks for the participation and wisdom shared.
I think that Tote is right. Its not that folks aren't aware that flotation is valuable, but some are just choosing not to use any. Interesting.
This year had reports of both a ditching scenario and a victim of a flooded hull (Cleopatra's needle) at an event. Both required assistance. While these were the more recent they're certainly not the first or the last.
The unsecured drain plug happens, plastics fail, hatches fail, and humans fail.
Some might be finding some security in having a bilge pump but should remember that flotation and the pump work together to help prevent a ditching event.
I might be on the paranoid side, but I really don't want to have to ditch, especially in the pacific.
I use flotation, have a pump, a bowline, leg straps, and work on my skills. Anything to help me not have to use that radio.

Thanks again to all that voted and contributed.

A few random photos of flooded boats from the web.

Is that vertical submerged one of you, Terry?

About a year ago I got off the water after a day of fishing and discovered that I had failed to bungie down the front hatch on my Revolution at the beginning of the day.  Yikes.  If I had flipped during the day, the kayak could have rapidly filled up with water.

If a sit-on-top kayak gets a small amount of water inside its hull, a paddler can use a bilge pump to pump the water out of the hatch in front of the kayak's seat while sitting in the kayak.  But as the kayak gets more water inside the hull, the kayak's cockpit will start to fill up, and water will start to slosh into the open hatch, particularly if there are waves on the water.  As still more water gets in the hull, the hatch will eventually be under water, and at that point self rescue will no longer be possible.  The kayak will quickly fill up with water and become unstable, and unless there is a lot of flotation in the kayak, it won't support the weight of a kayaker.  It would be very hard to pump water out of a sit-on-top kayak while floating in the water next to the kayak.  However, two or more other kayakers could pull the swamped kayak up onto their kayaks, turn it over, and drain it.

I can't imagine trying to pull a swamped kayak to drain it on the water. Talking about 300+ pounds to lift out of the water without a stable platform to lift on..

I can't imagine trying to pull a swamped kayak to drain it on the water. Talking about 300+ pounds to lift out of the water without a stable platform to lift on..

+1

I can't imagine trying to pull a swamped kayak to drain it on the water. Talking about 300+ pounds to lift out of the water without a stable platform to lift on..

Basically, the assisting kayaker drains water out of the swamped kayak by lifting it slowly until much of the water has drained out, pulling it up onto the assisting kayak or kayaks, turning it upside down, and draining the rest of the water out, as illustrated in the following videos involving recreational kayaks and sea kayaks.  It's harder to drain a sit-on-top kayak than a sit-inside kayak, because you need to drain the water out of the front hatch, which is less convenient than draining it out of the cockpit of a sit-inside kayak.  It would be a lot easier for two kayakers to drain a sit-on-top kayak on the water, because one kayaker can lift the stern high enough to drain water out of the front hatch while the other kayaker supports the bow. Sea kayaks with waterproof chambers are a lot easier to drain than recreational sit-inside kayaks or sit-on-top kayaks, because only the cockpit will contain water.

(recreational kayak)

(sea kayak)

(sea kayak with waterproof chambers)

(Sea kayak with waterproof chambers)

It's harder to drain a sit-on-top kayak than a sit-inside kayak, ...

Yes, I think it'd be way more difficult to make anything like that work for a SOT kayak.