"Ki Ayker" wrote in message
...

One paddler has a better shot at rolling a tandem than two. The
coordination
and timing are pretty critical and the two need to do this without
communicating (at least in conventional ways). It is not the length, nor
beam, of the boat that makes rolling one a challenge, it is the second
paddler.

Rick is absolutely correct. I have taken people out surfing in double
kayaks, and when we capsize I will usually just hold my breath and sit
tight
until I can "feel" the other paddler wet exit, then it's quite easy for me
to
roll back up.
In practice it's fairly easy for the stern paddler to roll a double if
the
front paddler sits tight and simply leans forward and hugs the boat.
However, I
find most of my "passengers" don't have this kind of savvy when the
capsize is
accidental.


I've seen two very dependable rollers trying to roll a tandem, one on one
side, the other on the other. The stern man, realizing what was going on,
just held his breath until the bowman finally bailed out, then he rolled up
himself. I asked him why he didn't just pitch in with an offside roll, and
he said it was a lot funnier this way.

--riverman