Hobie-specific self-rescue question

I've got a Hobie Adventure (now known as the Revolution 16). I hadn't practiced self-rescue in a long time, so I went to Lexington this morning and flipped it 10 times. Climbing back on was not difficult, but I found it surprisingly hard to roll the kayak back over once it had turtled. I have long arms, but it was all I could do to reach over the bottom of the kayak to grab the handle on the far side. And even then, I didn't seem to have good leverage, so I had to use a lot of strength to turn it. I don't remember that part being that difficult before.

Anyways, I'm wondering if there's a better way to right the kayak after it rolls over. This document from Hobie says that you should "...reach across the bottom of the boat and grab the scupper hole or Hobie MirageDrive and pull the boat upright."

https://static.hobiecat.com/digital_assets/mirage-kayak-manual.pdf

I'll try that next time, but was wondering what works for you. Thanks.

I cut a piece of old tie down strap and tied a loop on both ends.  I made it long enough to put it through one of the carrying middle handles and then just tuck it in one of the side pockets.  If it rolls I pull the strap out and toss it to the other side.  I go around to the other side and pull rope as I push the kayak from the other side.

It kind of confused me trying to describe it so hopefully you understand what I was saying. 

I am a HUGE fan of the push and pull method.
Take a breath and hold it.
Grab your kayak on each side from UNDERNEATH.
Push up on one side and pull down on the other.
Your kayak will right itself in no time flat.
This method is tried proven by me, and never fails.  I stand behind it 100%.

I am a HUGE fan of the push and pull method.
Take a breath and hold it.
Grab your kayak on each side from UNDERNEATH.
Push up on one side and pull down on the other.
Your kayak will right itself in no time flat.
This method is tried proven by me, and never fails.  I stand behind it 100%.

+1.  I didn't like this method when I first saw it because you had to hold your breath.  But after flipping my yak for reals and practicing self rescue, this method is the easiest for me. 

Climb on the upside down yak, grab the opposite side, fall off again, it will flip over. I found this to be the easiest way.  Im not a hobie owner, but i don't see why it wouldn't work...

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I made one of these for each of my kayaks.  I can easily right my Hobie PA14 and get back on board, no problems.  I'm 60 years old and both me and wife can flip back our kayaks. 

http://www.kayakselfrescueladder.com/

 I took the CCK ocean fishing course and couldn't right my kayak without help,  even the instructor had a hard time flipping my Outback upright.  When I got home I made a rope thingy like Jerry's. It works good and stays attached to the handle on the side of the kayak.

Climb on the upside down yak, grab the opposite side, fall off again, it will flip over. I found this to be the easiest way.  Im not a hobie owner, but i don't see why it wouldn't work...

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I tried this when a large wave flipped me over and this method takes more work.  Trying to jump on a capsized kayak while getting tossed around by waves was challenging and took me several attempts.  My fat gut and pfd kept getting in the way.   

I made one of these for each of my kayaks.  I can easily right my Hobie PA14 and get back on board, no problems.  I'm 60 years old and both me and wife can flip back our kayaks. 

http://www.kayakselfrescueladder.com/

That's basically what I made.  Works great. 

Thanks for all of the replies. Sorry for the late reply, but had another dentists appointment today...

Climb on the upside down yak, grab the opposite side, fall off again, it will flip over. I found this to be the easiest way.  Im not a hobie owner, but i don't see why it wouldn't work...

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This is exactly what I was doing. My Adventure is the narrowest Hobie, and I could barely grab anything on the opposite side. I did get it to work, but it was a lot of work, and as others have said, I bet it would've been a lot more difficult in rough conditions.

I've seen the rope ladder thing, but would prefer not to use it except as a last resort. My goal is to get back on the yak within 20 seconds. I'm thinking that if the daggerboard is in, it would be a piece of cake to flip over. So, maybe I'll just leave it in all the time, except in shallow water.

It looks like the wind is up on the ocean this weekend, so I might go back to the lake and try to perfect my self-rescue technique...

I am a HUGE fan of the push and pull method.
Take a breath and hold it.
Grab your kayak on each side from UNDERNEATH.
Push up on one side and pull down on the other.
Your kayak will right itself in no time flat.
This method is tried proven by me, and never fails.  I stand behind it 100%.

I use Tote's method, and I have short arms.  I place my head next to the kayak, reach an arm under grab a seat strap or handle on the opposite side, then pull while pushing with the near hand with a good strong kick.  Pops right over and I maintain a hold on the kayak so it doesn't drift away.

I am a HUGE fan of the push and pull method.
Take a breath and hold it.
Grab your kayak on each side from UNDERNEATH.
Push up on one side and pull down on the other.
Your kayak will right itself in no time flat.
This method is tried proven by me, and never fails.  I stand behind it 100%.

I use Tote's method, and I have short arms.  I place my head next to the kayak, reach an arm under grab a seat strap or handle on the opposite side, then pull while pushing with the near hand with a good strong kick.  Pops right over and I maintain a hold on the kayak so it doesn't drift away.

I'll try that too. I've done the push-pull approach with success before, but not from underneath. Found it kind of hard to do with a heavy kayak. But now that I think about it, being underneath makes some sense.

I started with white water kayaking, then got some trad sea kayaks, and now have an Adventure.  Yes, one of the first things I was required to learn was how to Eskimo roll.

I flipped my Adventure with a lot of help from a speeding passerby power boat, and I utilized the reach-across-grab-the-opposite-handle method.  This is facilitated by a simultaneous strong frog-kick whilst pressing the near side down and then quickly grabbing the far side handle, but then came the getting back in the boat part.

Taking a page from trad kayakers, I maneuvered to the nose (or stern), pressed that nose down between my legs (this is how to empty a water-filled boat from the stern), and rode it cowboy-style back to the cockpit. With this tactic, one can pretty easily roll the boat to upright whilst it's between the legs, so this method helps control the boat in very heavy conditions while one controls it with both the hands and legs.  The advantage of this method is that one is constantly straddling the boat, which is great for control and minimizes secondary rollovers.

Trad sea kayaks tend to have "expedition lines" mounted along the entirety of both gunwales for this very purpose, and they are a great advantage in rescue situations.

I started with white water kayaking, then got some trad sea kayaks, and now have an Adventure.  Yes, one of the first things I was required to learn was how to Eskimo roll.

I flipped my Adventure with a lot of help from a speeding passerby power boat, and I utilized the reach-across-grab-the-opposite-handle method.  This is facilitated by a simultaneous strong frog-kick whilst pressing the near side down and then quickly grabbing the far side handle, but then came the getting back in the boat part.

Taking a page from trad kayakers, I maneuvered to the nose (or stern), pressed that nose down between my legs (this is how to empty a water-filled boat from the stern), and rode it cowboy-style back to the cockpit. With this tactic, one can pretty easily roll the boat to upright whilst it's between the legs, so this method helps control the boat in very heavy conditions while one controls it with both the hands and legs.  The advantage of this method is that one is constantly straddling the boat, which is great for control and minimizes secondary rollovers.

Trad sea kayaks tend to have "expedition lines" mounted along the entirety of both gunwales for this very purpose, and they are a great advantage in rescue situations.

Interesting. I'd sure like to see a video of that approach applied to a Hobie Adventure. And I'm not sure how the "expedition lines" are supposed to help...

 Hmmmm,   I've never been able to teach my Raptor to flip.