"Seakayaker" ) writes:

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.

you offer no proof of that claim. I dare you to prove it. Don't give up
after a couple half hearted atempts. Keep trying until you get desperate
and are near death. If you still can't manage it and die in the attmept,
them maybe I'll believe you but I'd more likely put it down to lack of
competence. I'd prefer to see the test replicated a few times by other
obnoxious kayak paddlers before accepting the claim. However I'd easily
refute the claim by accomplishing the re-entry a single time.

What keeps the cushion from floating away?

two things, hands and handles. sometimes maybe three, teeth.

How do you hold the boat, your
paddle, and the cushion while you try to get it under your hips?

are you sure you've been in a boat before, or is this one of those "toll"
questions? ever tried lowering a sail on a capsized boat in rough
conditions? sailors do it.

Have you
ever tried this in 6 foot or higher breaking seas?

there's *nothing* I haven't tried in 6 foot or higher waves. what millponds
do you paddle in? 6 foot waves are for children. we get wakes on the canal
higher than that.


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.

that's what you get of buying a kayak with a tiny cockpit. why do some
kayak fanatics choose speed over comfort and safety? and then diss
sponsons? bloody irresponsible.

.. Better techniques can be found in any of the many books and videos
on the market for kayak re-entires and recoveries.

oh yeah, Hand of God. I love that one. Like God gives a **** about kayakers.


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.

anthing that interfers with putting you on edge where you cannot be
controlled. sure.

you should get a boat with a round bottom cross section. I don't know why
some kayakers go out in waves in long narrow hard chined boats, V-bottoms,
or those ridiculous hollow ends. nothing rides waves like round bottoms.

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