Towing sunken kayaks
 

I have been pondering the question if someone got in trouble and started sinking or at least was full of water would you be able to tow them any distance say to the shore ?

I believe most SOT's will sink ? not 100% sure,,but the bouancy would be neutral so they would sink very slowly ? give them a tow and keep moving you would make progress slowly maybe ?

Just asking the question,,if it happens will need to act fast,,whether thats to let them sink or try and tow them.

I understand your question, but I recommend, carrying a hand pump to pump out water. I had my kayak fill up with H20, because the end caps on my flushmounts slipped off, I assumed that they were glued on tight. I was about 3/4 mile from the Islander, and had about 1/2 my kayak full of water. It becomes very difficult to paddle, and very, very tippy, with each paddle stroke. I had to have my legs over the side, which slowed things down. I finally had to call the zodiac tender to come pick me up. If I had that happen inshore, with no pump, I'd head straight to shore, anywhere. Or call Mission Bay Life Guard, who responds to La Jolla. So to answer your question, I think it would be hard to tow a sinking kayak with another kayak. :p

chris

Towing a sinking kayak takes a LOT of energy! About ten years ago I had to tow a buddy of mine, it was in O'side harbor. He was fishing in a rental Scupper Pro, with the front hatch unbuckled :confused: (I found this out later). Well, sure enough, he fell out of the thing. As he was trying to get back on, he tilted the yak enough to allow water inside... it filled quickly. I paddled over to him and made him grab the front toggle on his yak, and the toggle on the back of my yak. By the time he grabbed my yak, his was almost completely under water :eek:. It seemed to take forever to get to the jetty, which was only about 75 feet away. Good thing it was low tide, as there was enough exposed sand to beach the yaks. If we were at a spot like La Jolla, or even just a bit further from shore, there is no way we would have made it to the beach. A hand-held bilge pump would not have made a difference in this situation.

Sinking feeling
 

Towing a flooded kayak can be done but it is hard work. I worked as a kayak guide last summer and had several first time paddlers roll thier boats. We were using sit-in-sides so the kayaks were about instantly filled with water. There is a some what complicated technique for draining a flooded kayak at sea but for the most part it was easier to tow them to shore. A flooded kayak wieghs what, about a ton at 8lbs to the gallon. If the paddle isn't too long or the water too rough it can be done. If the conditions are poor you'd be better off just pulling the paddler in and let the kayak go. Mike

I've had a sit on top kayak (very old ocean kayak classic) completely fill with water twice. It was just slightly negatively bouyant. I was able to swim it through the surf without too much problem, and I was pretty far outside. I always wear a wetsuit because I feel safer knowing I can swim in if everything goes downhill and I sometimes launch through big surf. Towing a flooded kayak I think would take a lot of energy because it would want to sink a little. If one person could be in the water sort of holding it up, that would make it much easier but this would depend on water temperature and what the kayakers are wearing.

O.K it seems short distances might be the go,,of course if you had a group you could take turns,,,might be easier to hail a passing boater to assist.

BTW > I have a 2009 Hobie Adventure,,no water comes in but i will get a handpump as suggested,,thanks,,,