Near Tragedy at Point-No-Point 1/31/11

. I want a kokatat dry suit.

That's how I roll and for a reason.

I like to use a wet cotton towel over my fish on the deck sometimes and it keeps them chilled in the sun and works great so its probably not a good thing to be immersed in. Brrrrrr.

A good wet-suit is a must in our waters. The Dry-suit may be a good idea, but you need to try self-rescue in them first. Keeping dry is good, at times, but those suits are not a snug fit like a wet-suit and folds in the cloth may snag up on deck hardware. When I practiced self rescue, I tried with just the wet-suit and with the wet-suit and PFD. Despite the PFD being a neoprene one, I learned that swimming and getting back on with a bulky PFD was exponentially more difficult than with just the wet-suit on. The wet-suit also provided plenty of buoyancy. I now carry the PFD in my crate with a pullcord so I can yank it out if needed.

A couple things come to mind here...
I took the MBK water  rescue class 2 seasons ago...I recommend taking it as it teaches invaluable lessons on self rescue...But also...helping someone else get into his / her boat..

Since that class I have not practiced those skill even though I switched yaks and acquired a drysuit... until reading this discussion...I had no idea that the drysuit could be problematic..However I still swear by going the drysuit route cause the overall experience is better than the wetsuit...whereby I mean the comfort factor is higher...and I will wear it ALWAYS on the ocean....where as with neoprene I may be tempted to skip it if the water/ weather looked calm...

on the Friday before the Albion tourney perhaps I will practice in the cove. anyone care to join?

dave

If you think about all the times you've done stupid stuff and got away with it...Self rescue is a key... if you can't use it well...glad it worked out...lucky is a good thing... and having someone there when things go South...that's Priceless

I've been doing Sketchy solo's for a long time... time for a dry suit... I'll tell ya though when that seal knocked me off my $hit last yr @ Albion...took me bout a sec to jump back on and I carry my VHF around my neck...was wearing 7mm but I'm usally not....so before I get my revo this yr the suit comes first...

I just heard there's a kayaker lost up here in WA...Lets hope for the best...

We've been offering a sit-on-top rescue class for a long time now, and I must say it gets way less interest than our sea kayaking sit-inside rescue class.  I really think there is a misconception that sit-on-top kayaks are safer than sit-inside sea kayaks because you can just crawl back on a sit-on-top and they are self bailing.

As many of you have pointed out it's not easy for everyone to get back into their kayak especially when you are cold, tired, or simply a larger person.  When you have water in your kayak, I consider a sit-on-top to be much more dangerous to that of a sit-inside sea kayak because sit-on-top kayaks lack bulkheads.  Without bulkheads, water entering a hatch during a capsize will continue to fill the entire kayak and the boat will quickly become very difficult to manage even for a trained rescuer.

It's a great safety measure to outfit your SOT with floatation bags or foam.  Ideally they would be secured at the bow and stern in order to reduce water from sloshing all around when a rescuer is trying to quickly bail your boat over theirs. 

Another misconception is that sit-on-tops do not need a bilge pump because they are self-bailing.  Sit-on-tops can often leak from the scupper holes (the thinnest part of your kayak), drain plugs (or a missing one), modifications and hardware, a worn keel, and of course hatches.  If you want to search for pin hole leaks, especially in the scuppers and stern keel, try putting a light on the opposite side that you are looking at and look for a hole.  Check your boat before heading out and always carry a bilge pump-- Beckson makes a good one and we sell it at the shops.  Other things you should have... a marine radio with good batteries, signaling devices, a backup paddle, and proper clothing (dress for immersion).

If you find it difficult to reenter your kayak you could could perform a paddle float reentry as used by sea kayakers and even combine it with a stirrup in order to assist you getting up and over your kayak.  There are many nuances in performing both self rescues and assisted rescues with a sit-on-top.  The key here is to practice various scenarios and only paddle in conditions in which you have practiced rescues with experienced friends or professional kayak instructors.  If any of you are interested in taking a formal sit-on-top rescue class, just give us a call to arrange it.  We have been teaching rescues since 1999 and have a lot to share with you.  Stay safe out there!

http://www.outbackadventures.com
415-461-2222

Glad you guys are ok. Alot of safety talk lately, let's get ready for winter! Thanks for posting this.

Allen, neck ring? Can you point me to one?

thx

no.  But I can take a pic and send.  I got it at kayakacademy.com when I bought the drysuit.  It's just stiff hosing with a plug that allows it to close into a ring.  It's just large enough to hold the latex neck away from my neck.  I can pop the latex off it in a second.

Does your dry suit have a relief zipper-how do you pee

The one time I've gone over in a kayak, I had the neck thing on.  I went full in and only got a little bit of water in my suit.  It was completely flat out, but I had a butt on some fish grippers and was reaching around behind me for a game clip.  You all know  ... "that" position that almost assures you're going over.  Silly me, I knew better.

Oh ... then there was that time I went over while seal launching.  I didn't have my fly zipped up.  D'oh!!!  Killed a cell phone too.

-Allen