"William R. Watt" wrote in message
...
"Michael Daly" ) writes:

BTW dictionaries are famous for getting definitions wrong - especially
in scientific
and technical terminology. My Webster's here says that oxygen is the
most
plentiful element in the universe.


I think you mean "atmosphere", not "universe". I'd check that dictionary
definitions again.

It's still wrong. Oxygen is only 20% of air---Nitrogen is far more
plentiful.




On this subject of getting back into capsized boats, I've done in in
canoes, sailing dingys, and once in a kayak. The problem in lightweight
narrow boats is getting one's hips over the gunwale. Most sailboats have
to be wide to carry sail. The one I built out of a single sheet of plywood
is narrow like a kayak. To carry sail and to re-enter after a capsize the
sponsons are needed. When you re-enter a kayak you normally pull yourself
up onto the rear deck and slide forward until you can straddle the boat
and drop your butt into the seat. On a boat with no rear deck, like my
small sailboat, and also I think on a kayak, you can enter from the side
by first sticking a floatation device under your hips to raise them to the
surface so you can slide them in over the gunwale. That's the way I have
re-enterd the sailboat. I sit on a floation cushion when using the boat
and shove the flotation cusion under my hips to re-enter the boat after a
capsize. However I only did that once as a test because the sponsons have
prevented any capsizes since they were installed.

The technique of using a floatation cushion would not work in any rough
water conditions that would have caused me to capsize in the first place.
What keeps the cushion from floating away? How do you hold the boat, your
paddle, and the cushion while you try to get it under your hips? Have you
ever tried this in 6 foot or higher breaking seas?

Then the technique of straddling a kayak is also not good for rough water
entries. If I put my butt in the boat first, my legs will not get into the
cockpit. Better techniques can be found in any of the many books and videos
on the market for kayak re-entires and recoveries.

I consider anything that interferes with my kayak being put up on edge as
unsafe. A boat that stays flat on the surface of the water cannot be
controlled. A breaking wave will cause it to capsize with or without
sponsons.