Hard earned hali

[roadx]

Me and a co worker started off at shelter island about 8am and headed to the newly relocated bait barge in SD bay (sewer of the south). it's quite the trek over only to find out there was mackerel only. no dines or chovie's, the good news was the mac's were on the smaller side in the 8"- 10" inch range.
we drifted the edge's and i picked up one legal 25"
after that things got ugly. me and my buddy got tangled up when we were handing beers off and some how i flip my 12' PA?? not sure how it happen but i think it may have been the combination of swell, rod in the rod holder being pulled making the yak lean and me leaning too far over the bow area. im sure many beers on the water had nothing to do with it.
my front hatch was only secured with one bungee. when i flip it allowed water to enter through the hatch and into the yak. this was the first time trying to flip a half submerged PA12. matter of fact, i had never tried re-entering a PA12 up to this point.
flipping it over would have been very difficult if not impossible by myself. first attempt about wore me out and when i did enter the yak it had too much water in it and it basically sunk and flipped again.
hanging onto the yak again while my buddy scrambled to pick up all the floating gear.
after a little breather we flipped the yak again and my buddy pumped out the yak with a hand pump i always carry. again, it would have been very difficult to hang on and pump the yak out by myself, and in the ocean, i may have not been able to do it at all !!
we got enough water out so i could climb back on with assistance.
tired i surveyed the damage. one lost rod and reel ( toro 50 / ugly stick) and one broken rod (shimano compre).
i used to go out to LJ any time day or night by myself and really never thought anything of it. now i have a different prospective. i will not be going out by myself in the ocean, the bay, maybe?
please, if you dont have a hand pump, get one! (a fiftyteen dollar item) it may save your gear, your life or even someone else's.

not hugh but good eating

[WildernessWanker]

Perfect example of "worse case scenario" and sounds like you handled it well with the help of a friend. On top of the lesson of having a pump is the importance of keeping hatches secured. I went out with a friend who kept the front hatch of his Prowler just loosely sitting there, one day he took a wave over the bow which opened the hatch then another which put gallons into his yak. No pump and it was a horrible ride back in to empty it, he almost rolled countless times and ruined some gear he had stashed inside.

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[cell128]

I would have shat my pants....I just got one of those pumps too I'm surprised how much water they can pump. My co workers say I should take a gun for shark protection lol

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[Amish Ed]

Glad you had your buddy with you and that you're ok. I bet you keep those hatches secure now.

[Cbad Mike]

Wow.... Glad it all worked out in the end.
I always carry my pump.... I ride a Malibu.

[Deamon]

Nice butt! I helped a buddy pump out his yak after we go it on shore... Took two of us w the hand pumps FOREVER to get it empty. I can't imagine doing it from another yak or God forbid, while in the water alone. Good stuff to share. It'll make me get that bow hatch double strapped from now on...Jim

[GregAndrew]

A great reminder to know your kayak, think about what could happen and plan your actions. Knowing how to approach pumping out your yak from the water, and having the pump accessible from that position is very important. They get a lot more unstable with some water inside,(and a lot more prone to taking on more water) so your best position for pumping one out may be in the water. High profile kayaks like the PAs can present some real difficulty to that. Lots of people still think they can just go under and lift it like a canoe, but it does not work that way. This is every bit as important as knowing how to remount your yak if you are going out alone. In very severe cases (your yak is about to sink) you can try to intentionally turn it upside down. Then breathe deep breaths into a hatch from beneath, or use a hose from your bait tank to help replace water with air inside your yak before trying to turn it over (better too much than too little).

[janines.fishtales@cox.net]

SD Bay (beer) is a big body of water (beer?). You have wind (beer), chop (more beer), and big big military vessels (more beer) and the chop they make! Seriously, it is a bay, it is not a lake. Anything can happen out there, I'm glad you had help, and it seems a reality check too. Nice (BEEERRRR!) 'but too!

Take care buddy,

J

[dorado50]

Its a good thing Harbor Patrol didn't come by, you could possibly be behind bars right now!. Too much beer...bad things can and do happen on the water as a result!

[taggermike]

That sucks. A PA is still a kayak and susceptible to flipping. I don't want to sound like an ass hole but ever one should practice righting and surfing their kayak with out gear, no matter what type. A while back a buddy of mine flipped out in the middle of SD Bay. He is a strong swimmer and life long surfer but had no idea how to right his kayak. I helped him with his gear and talked him through the re-entry. I've given kayak tours to total newbies on the east and west coast and seen plenty of roll overs. Find a pool or go on down to Tidelands Park and practice. No surprise is the best surprise. This video is pretty good. Mike
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8skBpGsNNp4

[roadx]

re-entering on a PA is difficult because of it's width.
i have pretty long arms and i couldnt reach across the mid section and find anything to grab to get leverage to flip it over. i tried the scupper holes and transducer port and still not enough leverage.
they get extremely heavy with water in them.
i may make i rope a foot or so long with a handle attached to the grab bar.
then i will be able to grab the far side of the yak and have more leverage to flip it.

[GregAndrew]

You might want to make the rope a bit longer so you can toss it across the middle of your upside down yak while you move to the other side to pull it. Somewhere in easy reach and not likely to slide back off the side it is attached to. A knot in the proper location should allow you to pull it over? A sturdy rod or paddle leash might double as a pull cord.

[Siebler]

http://www.kayakfishingsupplies.com/...-Rescue/Detail

While in most cases these are not "needed" on a PA it could definitely help much more than other kayaks I believe. Watch end of the product video for righting a flipped kayak. Easy.

[kauaiboy04]

yikes man! glad you're ok. i too flipped out in SD bay about a month back. something about all that cross chop coming from all the boats, and the sneaker waves that hits you right when you're leaning too much. good to hear you had a buddy to help you out. when i flipped, i was super pissed, flipped it back on my first try and was back in within a minute. didn't have time to think about how to do it but just reacted, all i was thinking was to track down that boat that came too close to me...

[rogersmith]

glad you did ok getting back aboard. Here is a nasty video of a PA12 flip
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKSnRKLJpq0
The guy reflips trying to come over the side, successfully gets back in over the stern
CJ that product looks great for reentry, better than paddle floats for sure

[WildernessWanker]

That's a crazy video, one I don't think I've seen before. Seems like he lost a ton of gear but he was lucky he was able to re-enter his kayak. There was a video on here not too long ago of someone who flipped their PA, only to land and empty it then pedal right back out into the chaos.

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[Hammerhead_77]

I flipped my pa14in the kelp at LJ my first time out. Learned a couple lessons from it. I had the pump and i had the rope attached to the handle. Tossed it over the top, swam around, grabbed it, pulled and over she came. Got back in and pumped it out...emptying the fish bin in the front was the hardest part.

Now i have about 12 of those foam pool noodles tucked in my hull wherever i dont keep gear...thats actually a lot less water the boat will hold and a bunch of reserve bouyancy.

[EastLosYaker]

I got my "bilge pump" from the 99 cents store. Its intended to be used as a water gun for kids but works the same way. Super cheap and has held up well over time.

[rhyak]

Originally Posted by EastLosYaker

I got my "bilge pump" from the 99 cents store. Its intended to be used as a water gun for kids but works the same way. Super cheap and has held up well over time.

Bad idea for getting lots of water out of the yak. not gonna be needed until you have a lot of water. Try filling a 5 gallon bucket with water and then empty with the 99cent pump gun. Better with a empty cup at that point.
This is IMHO.

[jorluivil]

Originally Posted by EastLosYaker

I got my "bilge pump" from the 99 cents store. Its intended to be used as a water gun for kids but works the same way. Super cheap and has held up well over time.

I'l have to assume you've never had 10gallons of water in your kayak...........................those water guns are considered 'kids toys' for a reason. You migh as well carry a shamwow with you, its going to work just as good as that squirt gun.