Crazy Talk... Sponsons?

Hana...I mean Mooch the Dorado looks awesome, and we have considered importing them, but to make it cost effective is big money.  Not sure the US is ready for such a narrow SOT.  There are others too like SEDA that make slick rigid SOTs that I also am eyeballing.  Can you guess where I think it will go eventually...just not sure its time.

The fish well/hatch looks awesome on the Dorado. I would have never thought of that but now that I have seen it I NEED one!

Scott,

The sponsoons I have are called 'Sea Wings' They're inflatable. The manufacturers way of mounting them was pretty lame, so I invented a really cool way of doing it which is ten times easier, and I can put them on or take them of in mid flight which is an added bonus.  They dont add much drag, so I can cover a lot of good distance fairly quickly. My kayak is a kevlar one, the model is Corona made by Perception. Its my favorite one out of all of my yaks, sort of my 'stealth' one.
I would really like to learn how to do an eskimo roll. Getting back into a closed deck kayak is not bad if you're not by yourself, which in my opinion you shouldnt be anyway in the ocean, but solo its a challange. Especially if conditions are rough. Hopefully with the sponsoons that wont happen, but I have  all of my safety equip, (paddle float and such) just in case.

Marvmars - These people are very good:
http://www.eskapekayak.com/

I took one of their kayak surfing classes, and it was a tip from one of the instructors that turned my iffy roll into what has become a pretty bomber roll. I'd be more than up for an on the water rescue practice session too, maybe after a morning of fishing?

Ever heard of an Eskimo rescue? It's pretty cool if you are traveling in a close group. Flip over, stay in your boat. Put your arms out of the water and thump on the hull. The idea is that if you remain calm, someone can get there in 10-20 seconds, and put the bow of their boat into one of your arms. Then just pull yourself up.  The thing is, is that this is absolutely something you need to practice. But when you've got it, it can mean the difference between a 20 second rescue, and a 5 minute or more T-rescue.




                                      seaworthy - adj. See below illustration

I used to have a pretty decent roll back when I white water kayaked.  I'm not even sure I could do it today.  But I do have the white water boat still and learning to roll in that is a lot easier than a larger sea kayak.  If you ever want to have a surf and roll practice day, I can bring the WW boat for you to learn the basics in before graduating to the sea kayaks.  I've taught a few people to roll as well and can certainly try showing you the ropes.

-Allen

Scott,
I've taken a couple of surf zone classes from Roger, the guy is awesome.
Whos the nut in the photo?? I've been in surf like that and have gotten my butt kicked. I have a lot of good horror stories. Lots of lessons learned.

Polepole,

Thanks for the offer, I may take you up on that some day. I never seem to have enough time to kayak as much as I want. I have my ocean kayak that I now use for fishing, my plastic one which is the same model as my kevlar for going on camping trips down the Russian River, (which is an absolute blast), I have two whitewater/surfing and one surfing sit on top which I havent even been in yet. I think the sit on top would be a lot of fun not having the stress of going upside down in a closed deck. Right now
all I can think about is fishing fishing fishing.

I Installed the sponsons last night. Tested them this evening in Pillar Point Harbor. I can now stand up in the boat, as well as cowboy around. I can even access both hatches.  It would be interesting doing this in open ocean though...

Attaching and inflating the sponsons takes a couple minutes. When they are attached and not inflated, they do increase drag a little bit. When they are attached and inflated, there's a definite increase in drag.

With the sponsons inflated and deployed, I ain't got no roll no more

I think these will work for the time being. Until I get enough $$ and WAF for a SOT.

I also took a look at the Cobra Expedition in the racks at HMB Kayaks. I'll probably paddle it this weekend, as I'm not going to be able to make it to the Elk tourney.

Regards
Scott