Instead of pool noodles.....

You sure that was from the foam? The water is already displaced by your hull, adding foam to the inside shouldn't have increased your buoyancy at all.  The foam/noodles are to combat sinking once the hull is filling with water.

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I agree the.only difference should have been you sitting a little lower in the water because of added  weight but only 1 mm or so

Although 24 pool noodles will leave me no storage space inside the kayak.

The X is a big boat - I still have lots of storage.  I don't ever put rods or anything in there though.

Thinking about doing a swamp test at Tiki at 5PM on Saturday.  I'm looking for a nice box of pool noodles to fill the hull up.  I'm curious to see if my Hobie will work as a submarine 

I'm not convinced.  I had my yak stuffed with noodles but pulled them all out because it's so much harder to dry out the hull completely with them in there...  near impossible.

Thing is I don't believe a kayak, even fully swamped and chomped, will sink...  as in to the bottom. 

One thing for certain, you are never gonna get enough noodles in a yak to be able to paddle it, if it's otherwise full of water.

yeah prob not. But I like to be holding on to a just at the surface 16 foot piece of yellow plastic vs. my head and shoulders. I think it may be more about being seen vs able to paddle at some point. Didn't Joe and Rhyak's boats sink?

Yes and No it sank too much for me too be on it in the ocean but didnt sink to the bottom remember it found its way half a mile to the south and into the campground somehow...

I have noodles in mine now and I dont put a ton of gear with me just enough for the trip one or two small tackle boxes of jigs and that enough weight for me no need for all the extra weight.

OEX in San Diego tried to sink a couple yaks and it took alot of work they were trying to build some structure in front of the shop in the bay to fish and had to drill muliple holes and actually add some blocks I believe to get it to stay down. Just too many air pockets too actually sink to the bottom I think. Maybe over time.

Ive always thought that the floatation priority is to create bulkheads. Im kind of surprised this wasnt mentioned earlier in this thread but there does seem to be an odd disconnect between the more traditional kayak world and SOT fishing crowd. The Mooch style does create a pseudo bulkhead but limits access and takes up a good chunk of usable storage. It also doesnt account for the aft section of the boat.
I also never thought that floatation was intended to allow someone to continue to paddle a boat that was full of water from a compromised hull. It was just to keep the boat bouyant enough to be towed in via bow-line or tow rig on a rescue PFD.
I personally believe in creating a bulkhead with large size pool noodles and then ribbing the mid section of the boat with standard size pool noodle to act as functional floation and to keep stowed gear in its proper place. I think that this finds a nice balance between filling up dead space while still allowing room for gear.





















Just a few of the floatation projects Ive worked on and currently finishing the floatation for the plastic SUP.

Nice work, Terry.  I too see the value of creating bulkheads versus just having flotation in there, and I specifically want to be able to sit on the boat versus just being there with it if my hull is breached.  The value for me is not just in the ability to tow the disabled craft back to the beach, but mostly for the security of not being in the water with Jaws.

My bulkheads - I filled the bow in a "V" shape, and I filled the stern similarly - (short vid):

Yummy Racer 5 IPA is some good stuff.

Yummy Racer 5 IPA is some good stuff.

Agreed, that's the kind of flotation I'm talking about! 

Awesome color co ordinated noodles Terry...like the way the rods were placed!!!  Gimme some of that Mirror Pond Pale ale over racer any day

I saw your vac sealed noodles on another thread eric  I beleive or maybe it was someone else's...thought peeps were doing that for when they need to pull everything out and dry the yak for inspections...  and what a great way to keep them from getting all stanky...pull out rinse off!!   I've stuffed 16 from my old ride but I need more!!!  great INFO!!!  Thanks guys...

I'm down for the water rides at Tiki...will be interesting to see how other kayaks preform with water in them with noodles ve no noodles just the floation that comes standard...

here's an old thread.....

http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php/topic,6020.0.html

Thanks for bringing that one back Mooch, except it made me a little sad.
There are some big brains, with real experience, in that thread that are no longer involved here.
It also reminded me that I need to track down BobN and see how hes doing.
thanks again

    There's another option for floatation...   
    Pour in place polyurethane foam.   Poured into both the bow and stern ends.  It's very light weight, closed cell,  coast guard approved for floatation...     A small amount of liquid will expand to fill those voids  and contours without losing your storage space.   A single cubic foot of foam will provide 60+  lbs of floatation.
    The PE  material of the hull  is  lighter density than water and will float by itself.  It's usually the gear attached that causes the kayak to sink.  ( As in Bloodbaths incident).   Those rubber hatch covers are negative bouyancy as are all the rod holders, etc.
    If those of you remember the posting by Pole Pole showing that Raptor half submerged in the Texas Gulf waters.   It was the floatation foam molded under the seat that kept it from sinking.     
   
      Here's my suppliers  link;      http://www.aeromarineproducts.com/boat-foam.htm     

    Tiki water testing ,,, great idea !      I already poured a small amount of foam into the bow of one Raptor the other day..  I'd like to try a T-rescue using that boat without the floatation bags installed.    I'd sure appreciate some help testing it's effectiveness.   
    Guess it's going to be a wet weekend !   
   

     
 

Yeah, very good thread.

This was excellent first hand info, from Littoral:

I've said this before here but I think it needs repeating. I've been on a sinking yak in swell and chop.  When your boat descends after a swell passes it gains downward inertia that is well beyond the actual gross weight. A half filled (with water) kayak that may float you in flat water doesn't float you in swells at all, they get driven underwater everytime a swell passes. Trust me on this.

Part of the reason these boats do as well as they do in swell is because many have capacities in the 400+ lbs. ranges that affords the extra buoyancy needed to quickly counter the upward and downward inertia. It's really not enough to simply float the weight of you and your boat, you need extra buoyancy or you're continually swamped.

and this from another later post by Littoral:

You have to remember that when a kayak fills with water it takes on hundreds of pounds in weight and all that weight begins to have a profound effect your ability to move, trim or maneuver the boat. You might be able to get the feel of this by rocking the boat from side to side with your hips when it's full during your test in a pool or lake but IMHO you are kidding yourself if you think that a test like that in any way simulates the ocean.

I think you are going to find what I did: There seems to be a very sharp tipping point where the boat suddenly becomes extremely slow no matter how hard you paddle and stops responding to attempts to trim the boat using body English. Chop and swell further complicate the task. When it gets to the point that the boat starts to submerge as each swell passes you are pretty much assured of leaving the boat. If a swell with any meat passes over the deck you are off the boat, your PFD floats and physically lifts you off, there is little you can do at this point, you are swept off the boat. IMHO emulating open ocean conditions really isn't remotely possible without swell. Swell practically describes the environment.

So that is now on my list - swamp the boat at a spot where I can see how my flotation does in swell action.

I like Hawk's flotation products, but I still maintain that I don't want anything that can puncture.

Glad you brought those old posts/points up Eric. IMO the internal flotation is more to keep the kayak from completely sinking so that it can be recovered later if it's not possible to tow or paddle it in. Once a kayak becomes unstable enough to throw you off in the water, or is full enough to stop forward momentum, and is taking on water faster than you can pump it out inbetween making progress towards land, then it's time to 'stay or swim'. And in BB's case it was definitely swim.

Here's another test for someone. Fill a pool noodle infested kayak with drain plug removed with seawater. Now, with 2 people aboard a one man kayak, try to tow the waterlogged kayak in choppy seas against the current, wind, and thru some patches of kelp. Yeah right.

After reading what happened to Sledge & BB I picked up a 2ml jacket at REI to go with my 3ml farmer, 7ml booties, and other gear. Everybody needs to be prepared to know when to stay and when to swim.....and also be dressed to swim. I should have had that jacket before now. A wet pool noodle isn't going to swim my freezing cold ass in. jim

Jim you are right! Thats the best moneys worth of flotation there is. Im getting one today. A kayak full of water 5 miles from the launch in heavy seas......................... you are screwed anyway. Personal survival gear is paramount.  I capsized once off the mendo coast in my scupper pro. 2.5 miles out. It was off and back on but nonetheless it was freaky. I was blown off my Malotte in 1975 by a rouge wave at Stillwater. 8ft of white water blew me off the board and took it 30 yards from me. What saved the boat? The inside under the seating area filled with foam and capped with glass on each end.