Safety essentials - lifeline

Not sure I will be fishing from a kayak anymore but either way I wanted to leave something in my wake

I don’t believe in carrying a lot of gear but this is one of the essentials I don’t leave shore without. My yaks have sported a version of it since 1972 and it’s been needed more times than I can count

The main thing here is being able to control your yak in the surf or whatever the situation. It’s true wherever you’re launching or landing but especially where there are kids surfers and dogs, and this is the best way to keep control

But off the top of my head I can also think of times it saved me a long swim back to shore without my yak

I’ll post a recipe with pics and a few comments about when and how to use it

The main ingredient is 15-18’ hollow braid rope, which is visible and floats

You can use the 1/2” but I prefer the 3/4” which is harder to find nowadays. West Marine and OSH used to carry it but last I checked neither had it.

Thinner rope or cord will cut your wrist if you’re hanging onto a yak that’s getting tossed around

Make a loop on both ends

For 1/2 inch you can probably get a FID to thread the end into the braid, not sure if they make one big enough to fit 3/4” rope

For the fatter rope I wrap off the end to make a pointed end to make threading it easier

Spread open the braid 25 or 30” from the end and feed the end into it

Push it in until you have a loop 6-8” or whatever feels right when it’s on your wrist

It should be tight enough to hang onto but loose enough that you can let go if you need to for some reason

A little disclaimer here

The main thing I’m recommending is you know how to control your yak, and this is one way to do that. It’s especially true in the surf and even more if there are surfers or kids and dogs playing in the waves

Most people won’t find themselves in a swim-in situation but you never know

Happy to say I haven't had a surf landing that required the landing rope but I have had a decent amount of surf landings. In harder landings I'm a big fan of nothing on deck.

When I have had sketckty surf landings I have been able to get through by getting as close in as I felt comfortable with the break and then  sliding in and to the stern handle letting the kayak tow me in. I think the rope is for the most extreme landings.

I’m not suggesting everyone should do this. Lots of variables and lots of different situations, and a lot of them I’ve tested. If I had to choose between a radio and the rope the rope would win

Once when this came up before someone sent me this snapshot of the line they made up for their yak. The line is too thin and would cut skin if a yak was tumbling around on the other end

Right idea otherwise

The original line on my first yak was fatter than that and still caused some rope burn

I dug up a snap someone took of me off the Marin coast, note the line attached to nose of the yak

There were a few times I either went out in weather or noaa got it wrong

Either way the first thing after stowing everything the line goes on your wrist and if you get tossed your yak can’t get away from you. It’s happened to me miles off shore which would be a lonely swim in if your yak blew away.

The line is good for more than just surf landings

My yaks tend to be lighter than most. Still my 16’ Tarpon I think is 63 lbs + the weight of whatever gear or fish is inside. So imagine that much weight yanking on your arm

I had a situation up at Dux that almost dislocated my shoulder and I bought the new rope thinking I’ll stitch some shock cord into it. Just need to figure out the best approach

In a surf situation if a big swell is coming at you you push your yak at a diagonal toward shore and swim

If I get a chance one of these days I’ll make a video with my son doing a surf zone demo. It’ll make more sense than a lot of words

Sure miss the salmon

I carry a braided floatline for utility/safety. Tuna clip on one end and a boogie board type velcro strap on the other end(no stretch coil). I can imagine some sort of additional/removable bungie/shock cord may benefit if not conducive to tangles.

Towed another kayak in with it once if i recall correctly(*never again* ) and some other various fish/kayak tetherings.

https://neptonics.com/collections/floatlines/products/neptonics-foam-filled-floatline?variant=44352786006294

Nice idea.

Just curious as to how far you bury the end into the rope when making the loop. I've made closed loops with sailing ropes, for a continuous furler that I use on my AI. For that application, they recommend having about the length of a fid (the length of which depends on the diameter of the rope) buried in the rope. That is supposed to make it nearly as strong as the unadulterated rope itself.

This guy recommends about 4 inches for the same type of rope that you are using (btw, it is way more difficult with sailing rope)...

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/QoPiIvPBrWw

At least a foot. I tend to over-engineer. Not necessary but I usually put stitches in there with my canvas stitcher. For present purposes I kept the recipe simple

NowhereMan when I was thinking about getting us a TI it was one of the first things I thought about. In that case might even have two lines one for my son and one for myself

Plan would be to do some surf launches/landings for emergency prep

Not sure anybody does beach launches with those, Bolinas has something close to it where the ramp is and that’s a hard landing if you didn’t get it right. I watched Chet land his AI there and the swell coming in behind him was tall enough I couldnt see him. Had me nervous watching him

I remember somebody on an AI crashed and burned there some years ago