"Michael Daly" ) writes:


Send him over and I'll put him to the test. Considering that you know next to
nothing about kayaking, I fail to see how you're in a position to make any
claims.

as it happens I know as much about sponson on kayaks as anyone else
who has posted in this thread, and considerably more about sponsons on
other boats. you are all talking from no experience at all and no knowledge
that I can discern. As far as I can tell I am THE ONLY person posting in
this thread who has actually used sponsons.

and I've just as much experience re-entering kayaks. my one re-entry
on a demo boat being more than most posting in this thread have done.

additionaly, OF COURSE THERE ARE NO SIX FOOT WAKES ON THE RIDEAU CANAL. Its
amazing how gullible, or more likely so wrapped up in their own
self-importance, some people can be not to recognize when someone is
pulling their leg. if there were 6 ft wakes they would suck the sunbathers
off the beach on Mooney's Bay into deep water and drown them like kittens,
and drastically reduce the value of waterfront property. geessh, get a life.

I'd like to make two observations. First, you complained that shoving a
boat cushion under my hips to raise them and allow me to get them over the
gunwale of my boat was inadvisable because the cushion might float away.
yet you accept a kayka re-entry technique which depends on using a paddle
float without question. I'd advise kayakers who are serious about re-entry
to forget about re-entry aids and practice unaided re-entry until they can
do it under any conditions with their eyes closed and one hand tied behind
their back. That should meet your requirements. It meets mine.

The other observation is I don't agree with the other poster that it's
most likely that person would fall out of his or her kayak in rough water.
Only a few fanatics would paddle in rough conditions and then only
occasionally unless they have become obsessed with rough weather conditons
and distain paddling in normal conditions. This applies especially to sea
kayaking because surveys of ocean sailors have shown that offshore
cruisers encounter winds of 12-15 mph most of the time. Its what makes
ocean cruising such a popular activity. Nobody enjoys being tossed around
riding out storms at sea. If you spend most of your time in good boating
conditions then that's when you will fall out of your kayak most often,
when you least expect it. Its a human thing, not a weather thing. I seldom
go boating in rough weather and I've fallen out of boats more than I care
to admit. I don't drink. Its that momentary lack of attention, the day
dreaming from repetition and boredom that has done me in, not rough
weather. This summer I saw one kayak paddle right over top of anther and
the paddler fall out. There is no way he could have rolled out of that
situtation. If you were to paddle onto a submerged log or other debris you
too could not roll the boat. You'd just fall out. And as likely as not if
startled, eg dive bombed by a seagull, the paddler would throw the paddle
in the air landing out of reach and unavailable to assist in a re-entry.
Nope, I'd work on that unassisted re-entry and not rely on the paddle. Now
sponsons, they stay with the boat. I'd invest my safety dollar in a good
set of sponsons and maybe go a bit slower from an occasional bit of drag
on wavetops. What people really object to but won't admit is that sponsons
don't make their sleek colourful boats look sexy. Sponsons just don't fit
their self image as kayakers. Nothing to do with performance or safety.
Everything to do with appearances. Bah.




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