Don't forget about using the area in front of you on the underside of the
cockpit to store things like water or a bilge pump for example. It's a
great out of the way place and easily accessible.
Courtney
"Melissa" wrote in message
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Hi Ken,
On Wed, 26 Jan 2005 11:50:20 GMT, you wrote:
Thank you for the information. Being a big guy keeping the pump
inside with me is not an option. I can't reach behind the seat very
well and I hate to have stuff flopping around under my legs. The
people that run the club that I kayak with also prefer that we keep
them on deck.
Sometimes, the design of the boat itself (how much space there might
be between the hip plates and side of the hull, for instance), or
your own installation of a "knee tube" under the deck, or even some
space between your legs on the bottom of the cockpit can mean that
you have other options than just stuffing everything against the
bulkhead (in fact, in the boat I recently finished building, there
really isn't enough "storage space" between the back band and the
bulkhead for anything but a deflated paddle float). In my Current
Designs Caribou, there's just enough room between the hip plates and
hull to slide the pump in there on one side, and my slim thermos for
a hot drink or soup on the other. Just in front of the seat, I've
placed some velcro on the floor of the cockpit, with the other half
of the velcro glued to my Naglene water bottle, so that my water,
though tethered as well, won't slide around on the bottom of the
cockpit floor.
In conditions that you can expect to remain relatively calm, merely
placing items under the deck bungies is perhaps not such an issue,
but if you're in conditions that are likely to cause a sudden
"clearing of the deck" due to water pressure (paddling through surf,
or even rolling, for instance), you may find yourself without any
pump (or paddle float or water) at all just when you might need it
most. You could tether the items you wish to carry on your deck (in
addition to just placing them under the bungies), but with any
tethering system, inside the cockpit or on deck, you also have to be
careful to do it in such a way that will not represent too much of an
entanglement potential in certain situations. To many bulky items on
deck (or attached to one's PFD) can also become obstacles during some
re-entry procedures.
The reason for this is so we can help bail someone else's boat
without having to open our spray skirt. I haven't had to do this
yet but I see their point.
Opening the spray skirt does represent a risk of swamping in certain
conditions, and this is why some people even prefer to install foot,
hand, or electric operated pumps in their boats. I guess I'm just
too much of a traditionalist to fully appreciate certain types of
mechanical assistance; even if they might be perfectly fine ideas in
general. Though one of these solutions might indeed be "safer", or
at least more convenient for even me in some situations, I still
resist. For both practical and aesthetic reasons, I generally prefer
to keep my deck as "clean" as possible with regards to bulky items.
Being a bit of a Luddite as well when it comes to "traditional water
craft", I'm wary of depending on mechanical devices that *might*
malfunction just when I need them most. I generally prefer to be the
only "moving part" in/on my boat. I also just don't like the idea of
having any more holes in my boat than is absolutely necessary, so
well sealed hatches and a cockpit are enough "holes in the boat" for
me! :-)
I guess that if you are paddling alone it is a moot point but when
you may need to assist a fellow paddler it makes sense to be able
to do so without exposing yourself to getting swamped.
Yes. Paddling alone presents both the potential for greater personal
risk and the opportunity to do some things differently than if you
were paddling with one other person or with a larger group. In my
particular situation, since there just aren't any other local
paddlers either able or willing to paddle as often as I want to, or
paddle in the conditions I'm willing to get myself into, if I want to
paddle, I paddle solo most of the time (unless paddling friends from
outside this immediate area happen to be visiting). I also most
often just prefer the solitude of solo paddling. After having lived
in large and crowded cities for so many years, enjoying a bit of
solitude here and there is very nice.
On the water situation, have you seen the guys kayak where he placed
the hydration pack in the rear bulkhead and ran a drink tube
through a grommet on the deck very near his left side. He can take
a drink and then push the tube back down. He claims that it stays
water tight and has the advantage (in summer) of keeping the drink
cooler than riding on his back. I was seriously thinking of doing
the same. What are your thoughts?
It's an interesting idea, however, what if you become separated from
your boat? Will you then be separated from your water as well? There
are pros and cons to most of this stuff we're discussing (here in
this "exercise" thread; sorry Steve! ;-)), so each of us has to weigh
for ourselves the potential risks against the potential benefits of
the various options available to us. For myself, even if I decide to
use a "wearable" hydration pack (an idea I quite like), I'll still
keep a bottle of water inside the cockpit as well. One can never
have too much water! :-)
I feel a little bad about hijacking Steve's "exercise" thread for
this type of discussion (though obviously not bad enough to prevent
driveling on and on ;-)), so perhaps if we want to take this further,
we can start another thread? :-)
- --
Melissa
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