Leashing kayak to yourself? pros/cons?

this conversation seams to be one surfers had many years ago.
and the leash won out. at some point i see kayakers going the same route, where loss of your vessel is a far greater risk than any remote possibility of entanglement. there hooked on with velcro not hand cuffed on.

I've been surfing, with a leash, for over 20 years. There's a HUGE difference between a 5-10lb surfboard & a 60-75lb kayak. Whether you're in breaking waves or a ripping current you don't want to have your body leashed to the kayak if you end up in the water.

I've been surfing, with a leash, for over 20 years. There's a HUGE difference between a 5-10lb surfboard & a 60-75lb kayak. Whether you're in breaking waves or a ripping current you don't want to have your body leashed to the kayak if you end up in the water.

Agree. A surf board won't drag you into the shut, a surf board will. I can tell you in the river with rapids , sometimes you gotta get away from that boat or it's going to be a bad scene , same in the surf. These things are heavy and can mess a person up.

doing a surf entry or white water i would not want to be leashed myself.
but on big lakes when the wind kicks in and the chop picks up, a leash has crossed my mind.

Let's hear from someone who has used a leash where if it wasn't for the leash he never would have made it back safely.

Let's hear from someone who has used a leash where if it wasn't for the leash he never would have made it back safely.

Bueller..........Bueller..........Bueller?

Let's hear from someone who has used a leash where if it wasn't for the leash he never would have made it back safely.

Bueller..........Bueller..........Bueller?

This guy didn't have a leash, but probably would have appreciated one: articles.sun-sentinel.com/2010-08-01/news/fl-kayak-trip-20100801_1_coast-guard-gulf-stream-boat-captain

I definitely see the logic of not tethering to your kayak in the surf, but in open water, that is much less of a risk than your kayak blowing away from you. And just to stir the pot a bit more, I think the philosophy to use a paddle leash (good idea) somewhat translates to using a tether (consensus: bad idea). You want to reduce the risk of human error. There are plenty of people saying that you just need to grab your paddle if you go over, because it's leashed to your kayak. With that mentality, even better advice  would be to grab paddle AND kayak when going over. That would definitely eliminate the need for a leash, yet the caveat behind that is that you can't always rely on your brain/body doing everything it should in mid-capsize. And just to be clear, I'm not advocating using a tether in place of training/practice/experience, more as an additional safety aid.

From what I'm gathering, the biggest risks to using a tether are getting dragged or knocked around by your kayak in the surf. Undoing the tether (along with the usual protocol of unleashing your paddle) before launching/landing would eliminate this. I won't defend using a tether in whitewater, since I see the risks outweighing the benefits. And I think most of us here fish in open open water anyways.

The other risk is entanglement, which I think can be minimized (not eliminated).  Quick release velcro/disconnects/etc. can help here. Also, I think this risk is greatly outweighed by the benefit of not getting separated from your kayak. I'd rather take my chances untangling myself, than swimming to shore without my kayak.

On the flip side, if your kayak gets away from you, you're not completely SOL, but hopefully you're a strong swimmer with good immersion gear and there's another boat that can get to you quickly.

There have been 5 GWS attacks in this club alone.
No one was hurt.
I wonder if they were tethered to their kayak if that would still be true???
The ONLY reason my paddle is tethered is because I have knocked it loose while putting my legs over the sides and not realized it right away.

There is one guy that should chime in here about leashes that hasn't yet, but it's the best story of why not to leash everything on your yak.  But a leash to your body isn't the same as a leash to your paddle.  A paddle leash is usually coiled, so that it is as short as can be until it has tension on it.  If you only have a paddle yak, that paddle is your only means of propulsion, and if it gets away from you, well then what are you going to do?  Well I always carry a second paddle, but if you didn't loose it in the first place, you dont need that second paddle.

There is one guy that should chime in here about leashes that hasn't yet, but it's the best story of why not to leash everything on your yak.  But a leash to your body isn't the same as a leash to your paddle.  A paddle leash is usually coiled, so that it is as short as can be until it has tension on it.  If you only have a paddle yak, that paddle is your only means of propulsion, and if it gets away from you, well then what are you going to do?  Well I always carry a second paddle, but if you didn't loose it in the first place, you dont need that second paddle.

I hate leashes. The only thing that is ever leashed on my kayak, is the paddle. Everything else is sacraficial. Put floats on your rods if they are high dollar or you just don't want to lose them, and same for your radio-you just might need it! I wont rehash my deal, but I flipped while trying to get unsnagged. I had a few leashes, and they wrapped up my feet. I could not move, at all. I was stuck under my kayak, could not right the kayak, could not do anything. Luckily, there were a bunch of guys around me and helped me get free, and they had to help me get back into my kayak. I was physically spent, and had been submerged for quite some time. Bloodbath had to escort and help me back to shore, I could not paddle anymore I was so frozen. I stood in the shower for 45 minutes with all my gear on before I could move and start taking off my PFD and other clothes. Now, had those leashes wrapped around my neck......? Had I been alone or less people around, I probably would have had some serious issues with cold water immersion and probably could have died very easily. BigJim offered me a beer. LOL. But seriously, leashes are a bad idea. I know some of you think, "well, Montana is a dumbass, and his leashes were just too long." Well, I will concede I am a dumbass, but seriously, when you flip, you usually are out of control in doing so, and any leash and what it is attached to can and will get wrapped up. A rod leashed, even a 6" clip leash behind you to keep your rod in the holder can get you. Let's say you flip. That rod has a swimbait on it, that impails you and you are upside down under the yak. That rod is clipped into the holder, and you are now struggling to get the rod out, the hook out, etc.... How much time in the water do you think you have before you are going to suffer from cold water immersion? What are you wearing? How important was it to have that leashed now? Think about it.......

while fighting a halibut in Santa Cruz, I did not clip my paddle to the yak. After the battle, I reached into my lap and discovered that is was not there. It was floating well beyond my range of hand paddling to retrieve. The buddy system was there to grab it for me.

I could have swam to get it, but swiming with a paddle in hand is something i hadnt done yet.

Would i just float out to sea and die = hell no.

while fighting a halibut in Santa Cruz, I did not clip my paddle to the yak. After the battle, I reached into my lap and discovered that is was not there. It was floating well beyond my range of hand paddling to retrieve. The buddy system was there to grab it for me.

I could have swam to get it, but swiming with a paddle in hand is something i hadnt done yet.

Would i just float out to sea and die = hell no.

There aint no fish in Santa Cruz! 

Yet another reason to use a "bigass net." It doubles as a paddle in the event you lose your primary paddle. You'd be surprised how well it can work. 
While I wouldn't personally tether myself to my yak, I DO see how it could be beneficial during extremely windy days...on the ocean or big cold lakes. Or while fishing on anchor inside SF Bay or other places where the current rips.

I know some of you think, "well, Montana is a dumbass, and his leashes were just too long."

I don't think this...as much as I used to...haha 

Leash the paddle with a velcro release. Leash a heavy rod or float a light one (or use cheap gear and take your chances). DO NOT TIE YOUR SELF TO THE KAYAK!

Let's hear from someone who has used a leash where if it wasn't for the leash he never would have made it back safely.

Bueller..........Bueller..........Bueller?

Hi, my name is Bueller and I am a bowline-aholic

yes, I love my bow line more than any other single piece of gear except my fishing pole...

A line to the nose of your yak is all about controlling it when mayhem strikes, which it does now and then on the ocean

A leash attaching you to a hundred + pounds of out of control yak and gear is obviously not a great idea, especially if there's a lot of gear and fixtures sticking up off the deck for it to hang up on

Leashes/lines etc are part of the recipe for how you deal w situations like unexpected surf break or conditions going south while you're offshore

How a kayak is set up is another one You can't really talk about one thing without the other