back40 wrote:

Gawd, if I'd known this would stir up such a hornet's nest....

Well, you didn't know, so don't sweat it. The subject comes up every so
often, Timmy goes on a rant, his ISP eventually pulls the plug due to
the deluge of complaints, then things get back to normal.

Anyway, with such a disparity of opinion (not uncommon these days!) I
think it best if I find out for myself. Your boat fender suggestion is
ingenious, and I just happen to have a few, so, when the water warms
up this summer, we'll do some some capsizing and testing, using the
(inflated)fenders as sponsosn, and as a paddle float, and we'll see
which seems to work better for me.

Before you trust any such system, be sure to test it in rough water. If
there's any small surf available, try it there. What you'll find is that
adding floatation to the sides of a kayak makes it more likely to be
flipped by steep water.