I know I'm being lazy, but I'm going to cut-and-paste a post I just made on Southern Paddler.
I guess I do have too much time on my hands, as I'm recovering from a little surgery. This has given me probably more time than I really need to think about things. One of the things I'm thinking about is the fact that I really need to get boat building, right after I clear out the garage (once again,) and all that as soon as the surgeon clears me to get back to work. In the mean time, I can only plot and plan.
But I do love to make long post! I'd rather not have to sit through them twice, myself, however. Come to think of it, I don't really wish that on anyone else, either.
So if you already read it on the other Forum, stop right here!
Here is what I inflicted on Old Sparkey's pages. . .
Morning, guys! And thanks for the replies.
What I was thinking was that sealing off the ends with bulkheads would probably work, allowing the boat to float high enough to be bailed out, even with a fully flooded cockpit. That would be a worst-case scenario. I think more likely would be a partially flooded cockpit, probably from a difficult deep water re-entry.
Loosing all that potential storage space would be a shame, though. So, about those deck hatches that I've seen so many pictures of. With a good, sturdy lip mounted in the hull and some good gasket material, just how "water tight" does the usual arraignment of bungee cords keep the compartment? At first, I though the space would almost have to be lost as far as storage went, but then I realized the 'yak wasn't meant to double as a submarine. (Whole 'nuther design project!)
Keeping whatever is kept in the ends sealed in waterproof bags should work out just fine. In fact, when I first started thinking about this a while back, the was talk about filling end compartments with plastic bottles, (recycling!) just so the compartment would not have to be completely water tight. What I thought was that even in the open area where the first couple of feet of my pirogue had a little deck installed fore and aft, a bag of plastic water bottles, milk jugs, whatever, could be tied in and used for flotation. (Water proof bag or even a net bag.)
What I was thinking back then was not so much "self-rescue," but taking the boat out for scalloping when they're in season. Where I live, scallops can be taken during the season in water just a couple of feet deep, mostly 5 to 15 feet, from the grass beds. Snorkeling is the usual thing, Scuba not really needed.
But what
is needed is the ability to get
out of and
back into, the boat.
Getting out, not usually a problem. Getting back in, when the water is too deep for you to just step in, that can be problematic.
I'd seen outriggers fitted to kayaks for those who wanted to fish standing up, and thought that a single one would probably work out just fine for my intended purpose. Nothing permanently attached to the boat, just something that could be added when I knew I'd need it. A single arm, projecting out from the boat, probably just behind the cockpit, maybe 3 to 6 feet long, with a float of some sort on the end. Fall off the boat in whatever fashion suits you, then when you want to get back in, swim to where the outrigger is attached to the hull, grab the outrigger a foot or so from the boat with one hand, grab the cockpit coaming or inwhale with the other, and pull yourself up so you are half out of the water and plop ever-so-gently into the boat.
To make it a little easier, you can make a loop in a short length of rope to use as a step (or stirrup.) This could be left in the cockpit at all times, tied off inside the cockpit, and rolled up ready to go, held in place under the cockpit coaming with a bit of velcro on a strap. Leaving it in place makes it part of a self rescue system. . .
The little outrigger should not pose any real engineering problems as I don't think there will be nearly as much stress on the parts as one might suspect. I doubt the outrigger arm would have to be much more than 3 to 6 feet long. The sponson or float, probably wouldn't need any more flotation than a life jacket, maybe two. The longer the outrigger, the smaller the float needs to be, since it is working at the end of a lever.
Putting such a system together and in use for specific functions, such as scalloping or planned snorkel trips would probably be easy enough. What I'm now hoping to do is to make it work as a self-rescue "system," without a permanent installation getting in the way, or various bits and pieces that can't be found when you need them.
Just to keep it simple (as it would
have to be to work,) the "outrigger" could easily be a kayak paddle or push pole. I always kept my paddle, and a spare single blade paddle, tethered to the boat. The spare was reachable from outside the boat, just under the gunnel. The float could be a cooler, a couple of floating cushions, or even a waterproof bag sealed shut. Any and all of those should have been tethered to the boat, just like the paddle. Use that tether to attach it to one end of the paddle.
The other end of the paddle could be attached to the boat by pushing the blade under the bungie cord holding the rear hatch closed. Not a rigid, tight system, but it should be enough to keep the boat from rolling too much while you scramble back in. Probably even easier if you left that "stirrup" described above in place and remembered to use it. Being a little tired and possibly "shocky," you'll need all the edge you can give yourself.
Takes a lot of explaining sometimes, to get what is basically a simple idea across! I think this would be a lot easier to do than it sounds like. And since I'll probably be doing most of my paddling solo, I think it is a project worth working on.
What do you think? Too much time on my hands?
Mike S.
Spring Hill, FL
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