Save a Sinking Kayak... - Kayak Fishing Adventures on Big Water’s Edge

GregAndrew · 04-22-2010, 12:36 PM

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.

-scallywag- · 04-22-2010, 05:04 PM

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.

T Bone · 04-22-2010, 05:35 PM

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.

radastaff · 04-22-2010, 05:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by T Bone

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

radastaff · 04-22-2010, 05:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GregAndrew

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.

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

dsafety · 04-22-2010, 06:32 PM

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

sandydiego · 04-23-2010, 08:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dsafety

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.

KirkG. · 04-23-2010, 01:07 PM

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.

dgax65 · 04-23-2010, 11:37 PM

You can use inflatable hull fenders for flotation. I used to have 8 fenders strung together in two daisy chains. I could slide a string of four outside the scupper posts in the hull of my Drifter. The fenders are extremely durable and hold air virtually forever. The problem with them is the weight and the loss of internal storage space. When I started paddling an X-Factor with a Kayatank I lost the ability to stow rods on the centerline. I had to stow them outboard of the scupper posts. To do that, I had to scrap the fenders. I only kept a couple in the stern and one in the bow; just enough to keep a swamped yak near the surface.

Inflatable fenders
http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?path=-1|10391|321174|30250|321909&id=1110593

As I mentioned in the thread about pool noodles, they won't make a swamped kayak stable enough to hold you upright, but they will keep it at the surface so you can recover your gear and the kayak. I flooded my Drifter just to see how it would handle with 7 fenders inside. It remained floating with the deck barely awash, but I couldn't sit on it.

dsafety · 04-24-2010, 06:19 AM

If anyone who works closely with some of the kayak manufacturers is reading this thread, please take this message home. Kayaks need to be designed so they have positive buoyancy.

It would be very easy to build in a sealed bulkhead or two. The obvious places would be in the bow and stern but the space right under the seat might be another good place.

Someone called the story in Bigbarrel's thread a "teachable moment". With thousands of views and close to 100 comments, it is clear that this is an issue that many yakfishers consider important. Hopefully the manufacturers will take notice.

Bob

04-22-2010, 05:35 PM	#3
T Bone Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Redlands CA Posts: 871	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. __________________ Barachit Baralah,Elohim-In the beginning,God-Genesis 1:1 "Who among you,if your son asked for a fish would give them a serpent " Jesus Matt. 7:10

04-23-2010, 11:37 PM	#9
dgax65 Guerro Grande Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 629	You can use inflatable hull fenders for flotation. I used to have 8 fenders strung together in two daisy chains. I could slide a string of four outside the scupper posts in the hull of my Drifter. The fenders are extremely durable and hold air virtually forever. The problem with them is the weight and the loss of internal storage space. When I started paddling an X-Factor with a Kayatank I lost the ability to stow rods on the centerline. I had to stow them outboard of the scupper posts. To do that, I had to scrap the fenders. I only kept a couple in the stern and one in the bow; just enough to keep a swamped yak near the surface. Inflatable fenders http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?path=-1\|10391\|321174\|30250\|321909&id=1110593 As I mentioned in the thread about pool noodles, they won't make a swamped kayak stable enough to hold you upright, but they will keep it at the surface so you can recover your gear and the kayak. I flooded my Drifter just to see how it would handle with 7 fenders inside. It remained floating with the deck barely awash, but I couldn't sit on it. __________________ Douglas Gaxiola Team No Fish- Amateur Staff

04-24-2010, 06:19 AM	#10
dsafety Olivenhain Bob Join Date: May 2008 Location: Olivenhain, CA Posts: 1,121	Attn. Kayak manufacturers! If anyone who works closely with some of the kayak manufacturers is reading this thread, please take this message home. Kayaks need to be designed so they have positive buoyancy. It would be very easy to build in a sealed bulkhead or two. The obvious places would be in the bow and stern but the space right under the seat might be another good place. Someone called the story in Bigbarrel's thread a "teachable moment". With thousands of views and close to 100 comments, it is clear that this is an issue that many yakfishers consider important. Hopefully the manufacturers will take notice. Bob

04-22-2010, 12:36 PM	#1
GregAndrew Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 2,384	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.

04-22-2010, 05:04 PM	#2
-scallywag- Banned Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: on the road... Posts: 598	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.

04-22-2010, 06:32 PM	#6
dsafety Olivenhain Bob Join Date: May 2008 Location: Olivenhain, CA Posts: 1,121	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

04-23-2010, 01:07 PM	#8
KirkG. Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Temecula Posts: 43	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.