Surf confidence

I’ve been launching and landing in the surf, and not without flipping
One of the key things that helped me learn kayaking in the surf was the confidence and peace of mind that if I do flip, then it’s all good. No injury or lost gear.

So I wanted to share how I rig my gear. It’s very kayak and gear specific so different for each person. Many ideas I have borrowed from other members. If you have suggestions for improvements, please comment.
See the photos for reference.

1) I don’t rig my rod holder & down rigger. They’re in the grey dry bag (with tackle boxes etc.). If I flip, I won’t get entangled in them and they won’t apply torque to the Scotty mount (in the left pocket)

2) I do mount the fish finder but I loosen the RAM mount. If I flip it can move and won’t break. I stow it for landing though.

3) Sabiki rod, burlap bag, and other small items go in the center (round) hatch. Burlap bag is later connected to stringer, which is connected to kayak. None would get lost if capsized at landing.

4) my rod is always alongside the kayak with reel behind seat for splash protection. The rod tip goes into front hatch bungee tab. Sometimes I also use a neoprene reel cover or stow the reel for landing.

5) net lays flat under bungee, but under light pressure so it can pop in case of strong force on capsize (to prevent frame damage).

6) mirage drive connected at all times with coil lanyard to kayak. I also have a contraption (not shown in the photo) that mounts in the drive well (instead of the drive) and has a bungee that wraps around the drive (which lays flat on the deck at this point) to make the drive immovable. Best thing for flipping safety and for avoiding sand in the drive.

7) cart, bilge pump, and safety rope are in front hatch. Very hard to access, but it’s a tradeoff.

spare rod, main rod, food, bait, tools, other rigs, fish finder, all in front hatch

Or take a class, and learn basic kayak skills for surf launching, and landing. Watching the the kayak instructors land forwards, backwards, and sideways without flipping is pretty impressive. It can be done with a little instruction, and practice. 

After that your list is a great backup plan.

nice list - thanks for sharing!  I do similar when I return, but less so when I'm headed out

Dont skimp on whatever hardware/rope that you use to attached the mirage drive to the yak.  Use stainless steel and err on the thicker side of the rope if in doubt. 

Bilge pump in the front hatch seems like a bad idea. If you need it, it might not be possible to extract from the front hatch without capsizing. Won’t it fit inside the center hatch? That’s where I keep it on my Adventure/Revo 16.

I use Booms lanyards. $11 for 2. They’re now on their 3rd season and have some kinks but are holding strong. Metal inside. Rated 50lb, hopefully enough. Saved my drive a couple of times. Had my foot tangled in them when I exited the kayak a couple of times and didn’t pay attention, so they do require getting used to. But they stretch and won’t cut your skin in that case.

As for the bilge pump, mine is long (probably 20+”) and won’t fit through the center hatch. But I agree that having it accessible is important. I figured if I ever need it on the water it would be usually because I capsized, in which case, before climbing back, I would get it from the front hatch.

I use Booms lanyards. $11 for 2. They’re now on their 3rd season and have some kinks but are holding strong. Metal inside. Rated 50lb, hopefully enough. Saved my drive a couple of times. Had my foot tangled in them when I exited the kayak a couple of times and didn’t pay attention, so they do require getting used to. But they stretch and won’t cut your skin in that case.

As for the bilge pump, mine is long (probably 20+”) and won’t fit through the center hatch. But I agree that having it accessible is important. I figured if I ever need it on the water it would be usually because I capsized, in which case, before climbing back, I would get it from the front hatch.

Might want to see if lanyards with metal inside are severable with a safety knife/shear. Lengthy and filled with metal seems like a not so good idea for surf gear. Surf boards/boogie boards have strong tethers non-metal. If using coil surf leashes, one could zip tie or bind sections of the coils to tailor length. Safety should have priority over losing your gear. Not only a danger yourself also to bystanders and others.

Safety should have priority over losing your gear. Not only a danger yourself also to bystanders and others.

100%.
I should get on this
Thanks!

Bilge pump in the front hatch seems like a bad idea. If you need it, it might not be possible to extract from the front hatch without capsizing. Won’t it fit inside the center hatch? That’s where I keep it on my Adventure/Revo 16.

There are a couple of situations where you could end up with a bunch of water inside a sit-on-top kayak, such as (a) developing a leak in the hull, (b) from a wave breaking over the kayak when a hatch is open, or (c) from the kayak spending an extended period upside down, perhaps in a surf zone.  Some of these things are unlikely to happen, but you should have a plan to deal with the situation if it happens.  I always keep a hand-pumped bilge pump under the center hatch in my Revolution and in my Pro Angler, where I could use it to pump out modest amounts of water from inside the kayak.  But I recognize that there are significant limitations on the usefulness of a bilge pump when you're out on the water, in particular the following: 

1. As a sit-on-top kayak gets increasing amounts of water inside it, the kayak will sit lower and lower in the water, water will flow into the cockpit through the scupper holes, and eventually the water level in the cockpit will reach the level of the center hatch and start flowing inside the kayak. As that level approaches, you'd have to stop pumping and close the hatch or risk totally swamping the kayak, particularly since a semi-swamped kayak is pretty unstable and will lurch from side to side as water sloshes around inside the hull.  This risk is lower on paddle kayaks which have an elevated hatch between the paddler's legs, such as an Ocean Kayak Trident.

2. In a sit-on-top kayak, the rim of the front hatch is higher than the hatch in front of the kayak's seat.  However, if you move forward in the cockpit to try to get a bilge pump out of the front hatch, or to pump water out of the front hatch, the water inside the hull will rush forward and sink the bow of the kayak. If the front hatch is open when that happens, the kayak will get totally swamped. So you shouldn't store a bilge pump in the front hatch, or plan to use a hand pump to empty water out of the front hatch.

I've heard of kayakers who installed an electric bilge pump inside their kayak.  If you have a kayak which has leaky hatches and routinely takes on a lot of water during a day of kayaking, that might be worth considering.  But I never get more than small dribbles of water inside my kayak, so for me it isn't worth installing an electric bilge pump. If I had a kayak which routinely took on so much water that it might be worth installing an electric bilge pump, I'd sell it and get a better kayak.

Pmmpete -
Great points. I’ve actually seen (and helped) a kayaker with cracked scupper holes. A minute into the launch and his kayak was half submerged.

On my kayak specifically I get almost no water inside. When I did surf sessions in LM i didn't even use the bilge pump. I just drained the kayak once landed (it was heavy to drag!). I also have a huge closed cell foam block at the stern (in addition to what Hobie put in the middle) and my huge Trax-2 tires are stowed at the bow. None of those things are an excuse to store a bilge pump where it’s less accessible, but it factors into the risk calculation.

Great discussion!