Save a Sinking Kayak...
 

Here's one way of possibly saving a kayak
that is going down, filled with water.

Under the water, upright the kayak to full vertical,
nose first. Open its first hatch, closest to the
nose. Push the kayak upward, draining the kayak
as you push it up. Open the next hatch, if possible
to continue draining. Ect...

This will partially drain and allow it to float so you can deal
with it. Whether you keep it upside down or rightside up.

Maybe this will not work everytime, because you have alot
of wt inside, or the water is too choppy. But keep this option
in the back of your mind...

Might even be a good idea to get off of a foundering yak. Taking your own weight off the yak may provide you with the valuable couple of minutes you need to bail it out.

Here is another Idea.

Kayak flotation - not all float

Cool....now this I agree with. It would be cool if somehow they were C02 activated.

Does anyone ever install bilge pumps in their yaks? They are easy to install and would not take much battery power to run.

If you have a sealed battery system, a bilge pump may work. I'm looking at upgrading to a better handpump to bail out the yak. I am planning of putting the yak in my pool and flooding the thing to see how hard it would be to save my own butt. I'll see if I can get 467Echo to come over and film it.

Kiyo has a bilge pump installed in his yaks. As sandydiego stated, all electrical must be completely sealed for it to be worth while. He will certainly not be caught with half a yak of water.

Hey sandy, remember to throw in some weight to simulate the gear you carry that is heavier than water. It might be that you cannot even keep it at the surface even with the added flotation of your PFD. I am dying to see the result though.

They are being made for spearfishing, I carry two with 25lbs lift each.
Pretty cool little plunger device that pops the Co2 cartridge.
They can put the Co2 device on any sized bag they make and do custom sizes, but I don't know if I would spent the money just for kayak floatation.
http://www.carterbag.com/spearfish.htmlhttp://www.carterbag.com/images/fish%20float-CO2.jpg

I was planning to put all my gear in the yak to get a honest test out of it. I have some dive weights as well (to simulate beer 6-pack). I do need to get a NRS kayak handpump. The pump I have is not up to the job.

6-pack would be neutral since they are filled with fluid that is predominantly water. I think the problem is that when filled the kayak is close to neutral bouyancy, it's all the stuff we take that adds the weight that makes the whole package sink. That is where the noodles come in. Adding them does nothing but add a few ounces to the overall weight when the hull is dry, but they displace water to add bouyancy to the whole package when the hull is filled.

I'm thinking another practice could be to pull the bait tank off the back and stick the pump inside the hatch so it is sucking out the water. Not the best approach, but another arrow in the quiver that could make a difference

Wonder if they can make it to deploy at a certain pressure, like say at a depth of 6 feet? Automatically deploying at a certain depth would make it one less thing to worry about

Hmm, I also have an auto deploying PFD that I don't use that came with my yak. Maybe I'll just keep that stashed inside the hull

Just don't contact the German Coast Guard if you're sinking
 

:D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSdxqIBfEAw


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I Googled "Pool Noodle Buoyancy" and got a forum where it was discussed. I didn't double check the math, but one guy figured that a 1 foot piece of 3.5 inch noodle would float a 4 lb piece of steel. So, by my figuring, (3) 5 foot noodles should be enough to compensate for the gear that is more dense than water.

There was also some mention of 2 part marine foam that looked promising. You mix the 2 parts together and pour it into the area to be filled and it expands to 30-1 the size. You could flip your yak over on some horses and pour that into the area on the outside of the leg wells. Would have to check if there is a reaction problem with the plastic used in yaks though.

kayaks should not be sinking....after a little research it seems that the sinking kayak in question sunk due to a poorly designed bait tank and nothing else.

Also in the situation in question, if he had pool noodles or other floatation inside the yak it would have still quickly filled with water due to the open hatch. Instead of sinking it would have just hung out right below the surface. I guess you could maybe recover some safety gear and have something to hold onto. But at that point, in rough enough conditions to sink you in the first place your not going to be able to pump the yak out and/or paddle it back in, I guess you could just wait for rescue?

Be familiar with you yak, if it starts feeling tipsy check the hull for water.

Anytime you have a hatch open in rough conditions be carefull, one angry little whitecap could dump 5-10gal (40-80lbs) into that open hatch and/or tip you over. If you go over with a open hatch you have a pretty good chance of watching your boat go to the bottom.

Verizon has a waterproof phone.I have had them for 4 years now.they are not as pretty as others but they work great and are quite waterproof.I think its a good Idea to have one.
Personally I am much more scared of sinking/submerging my little whaler skiff.It has floatation but my OB weighs 60 lbs and with the low freeboard it has(12") makes it hairball in rough swell.Its quite a blast when its flat though.

right
the casio g-zone
have had mine for 2 1/2 years
still going strong
well
battery sucks now

how bout
sticking a pvc tube in ure yak(for rod storage)say 4" or 6" di
then filling the entire interior with that expanding foam(great idea and ive seen the stuff for insulation in action)
then hogging out a small compartment right around the hatch area
for storage
bet that thing would float pretty good
and not allow for much water in the hold
and still give u space for rod storage

I see a number of solutions to this problem. Frankly, it is one that I never considered to be a problem before. But obviously at least some types of kayaks can sink.

As I mentioned in another thread, an inflatable bladder or two that can be inflated by hitting some sort of a panic button is one way to go. My concern with this option is that it may degrade over time and not work when needed.

A passive flotation device seems like a better idea. The noodle idea is one to consider but I wonder where they could be placed so they do not take up space needed for accessible storage.

I am thinking that by simply taking a few one gallon milk jugs, sealing them so they are air tight and stuffing them into the unused space in the bow and stern might just do the trick. They could be bungeed or glued in place.

Bob

Hey honey I need a couple of jugs for the yak....... I know you weren't trying to be funny. It's not a bad idea.

I like the pool noodle idea. Take 4, 5ft long pool noodles and, since they are hollow, jam them along the sides of the yak. The scupper holes would hold them to the side and would probably take up minimul space and provide max flotation.

KirkG.