Don't Let This Happen To You - Kayak Fishing Adventures on Big Water’s Edge

dsafety · 04-21-2010, 06:40 PM

Let me jump on the bandwagon and express my sympathy for your loss while applauding your ability to not become a causality yourself. Survival when things go bad on the water takes the right mix of experience, common sense and good luck. It looks like you had all three.

Always the innovator, I started thinking about what kind of an accessory might have made this event less costly. I bet a simple device could be constructed that consists of an inflatable bladder that could be filled with air or CO2 by pulling a pin or pressing a button. This bladder, (probably two of them), could be installed in the unused spaces inside the yak in the bow and stern. Just like the air bags in cars, they would go unused for the life of most kayaks but when that emergency occurred, they could be inflated to keep the yak from visiting Davey Jones.

Another idea would be to fill these same unused areas in the bow and stern with lightweight foam making the kayak as unsinkable as a Boston Whaler.

If anyone decides to run with either of these ideas, please let me know and I tell you where to send the royalty checks.

Bob

radastaff · 04-21-2010, 06:58 PM

i just got an idea

how bout a yak design
that incorps a 1 or 2" layer of floation
thruout the yaks hull
uniformly
so it would have 2 layers of hull
with the floatation inside it

a few bulkheads with flotation
might be a handy project too

asystole · 04-21-2010, 07:02 PM

Putting a cell phone in a baggy and stowing it on your PFD is a great idea but... If you have a touch screen cell phone, ie; iphone or droid it may not work if your hands are wet and baggies get holes. I bought a cheap little dry pouch for around $4 and will keep my droid in that. I tested it tonight in the sink to see if I could dial the touch screen through the pouch while it was wet and it worked perfectly. This will be a permanent item for my PFD.

GregAndrew · 04-21-2010, 10:33 PM

Just finished installing my new bungee hold down for my drift chute and hand pump. Thought of a couple of things on the install. Wanted one side of the bungee to be fool proof release, so just a simple plastic hook to wrap the padeye (don't want to be fiddling with a locking terminal). And didn't want to have to leave the center (seat) of my yak to fish it out, so put it in my center hatch. I don't know if my front hatch would stay above water if I had to crawl up there with my yak half filled.

I like the CO2 air bag idea! If you can come up with a small storage device, and a non-electric triggering device that would be easily accessible, and not easily accidentally triggered.

Pool noodles do provide some buoyancy, the relative flotation provided depends on the amount of stuff you have on your yak that is heavier than water. Unfortunately, they also take up some valuable space like the air bladders you can put in the ends of the hull.

yakrider · 04-22-2010, 05:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GregAndrew

Just finished installing my new bungee hold down for my drift chute and hand pump. Thought of a couple of things on the install. And didn't want to have to leave the center (seat) of my yak to fish it out, so put it in my center hatch. I don't know if my front hatch would stay above water if I had to crawl up there with my yak half filled.

.

hey greg...
can you take a picture...
I like the sound of your idea...

04-21-2010, 06:58 PM	#2
radastaff Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 314	i just got an idea how bout a yak design that incorps a 1 or 2" layer of floation thruout the yaks hull uniformly so it would have 2 layers of hull with the floatation inside it a few bulkheads with flotation might be a handy project too Last edited by radastaff; 04-21-2010 at 07:24 PM.

04-21-2010, 06:40 PM	#1
dsafety Olivenhain Bob Join Date: May 2008 Location: Olivenhain, CA Posts: 1,122	Let me jump on the bandwagon and express my sympathy for your loss while applauding your ability to not become a causality yourself. Survival when things go bad on the water takes the right mix of experience, common sense and good luck. It looks like you had all three. Always the innovator, I started thinking about what kind of an accessory might have made this event less costly. I bet a simple device could be constructed that consists of an inflatable bladder that could be filled with air or CO2 by pulling a pin or pressing a button. This bladder, (probably two of them), could be installed in the unused spaces inside the yak in the bow and stern. Just like the air bags in cars, they would go unused for the life of most kayaks but when that emergency occurred, they could be inflated to keep the yak from visiting Davey Jones. Another idea would be to fill these same unused areas in the bow and stern with lightweight foam making the kayak as unsinkable as a Boston Whaler. If anyone decides to run with either of these ideas, please let me know and I tell you where to send the royalty checks. Bob

04-21-2010, 07:02 PM	#3
asystole Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Carlsbad, CA Posts: 48	Putting a cell phone in a baggy and stowing it on your PFD is a great idea but... If you have a touch screen cell phone, ie; iphone or droid it may not work if your hands are wet and baggies get holes. I bought a cheap little dry pouch for around $4 and will keep my droid in that. I tested it tonight in the sink to see if I could dial the touch screen through the pouch while it was wet and it worked perfectly. This will be a permanent item for my PFD.

04-21-2010, 10:33 PM	#4
GregAndrew Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 2,384	Just finished installing my new bungee hold down for my drift chute and hand pump. Thought of a couple of things on the install. Wanted one side of the bungee to be fool proof release, so just a simple plastic hook to wrap the padeye (don't want to be fiddling with a locking terminal). And didn't want to have to leave the center (seat) of my yak to fish it out, so put it in my center hatch. I don't know if my front hatch would stay above water if I had to crawl up there with my yak half filled. I like the CO2 air bag idea! If you can come up with a small storage device, and a non-electric triggering device that would be easily accessible, and not easily accidentally triggered. Pool noodles do provide some buoyancy, the relative flotation provided depends on the amount of stuff you have on your yak that is heavier than water. Unfortunately, they also take up some valuable space like the air bladders you can put in the ends of the hull.