Save a Sinking Kayak...

[Hunters Pa]

Originally Posted by bluesquids

They are being made for spearfishing, I carry two with 25lbs lift each.
Pretty cool little plunger device that pops the Co2 cartridge.
They can put the Co2 device on any sized bag they make and do custom sizes, but I don't know if I would spent the money just for kayak floatation.
http://www.carterbag.com/spearfish.html

Wonder if they can make it to deploy at a certain pressure, like say at a depth of 6 feet? Automatically deploying at a certain depth would make it one less thing to worry about

Hmm, I also have an auto deploying PFD that I don't use that came with my yak. Maybe I'll just keep that stashed inside the hull

[RoeBoat]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSdxqIBfEAw

[GregAndrew]

I Googled "Pool Noodle Buoyancy" and got a forum where it was discussed. I didn't double check the math, but one guy figured that a 1 foot piece of 3.5 inch noodle would float a 4 lb piece of steel. So, by my figuring, (3) 5 foot noodles should be enough to compensate for the gear that is more dense than water.

There was also some mention of 2 part marine foam that looked promising. You mix the 2 parts together and pour it into the area to be filled and it expands to 30-1 the size. You could flip your yak over on some horses and pour that into the area on the outside of the leg wells. Would have to check if there is a reaction problem with the plastic used in yaks though.

[-scallywag-]

kayaks should not be sinking....after a little research it seems that the sinking kayak in question sunk due to a poorly designed bait tank and nothing else.

Also in the situation in question, if he had pool noodles or other floatation inside the yak it would have still quickly filled with water due to the open hatch. Instead of sinking it would have just hung out right below the surface. I guess you could maybe recover some safety gear and have something to hold onto. But at that point, in rough enough conditions to sink you in the first place your not going to be able to pump the yak out and/or paddle it back in, I guess you could just wait for rescue?

Be familiar with you yak, if it starts feeling tipsy check the hull for water.

Anytime you have a hatch open in rough conditions be carefull, one angry little whitecap could dump 5-10gal (40-80lbs) into that open hatch and/or tip you over. If you go over with a open hatch you have a pretty good chance of watching your boat go to the bottom.

[T Bone]

Verizon has a waterproof phone.I have had them for 4 years now.they are not as pretty as others but they work great and are quite waterproof.I think its a good Idea to have one.
Personally I am much more scared of sinking/submerging my little whaler skiff.It has floatation but my OB weighs 60 lbs and with the low freeboard it has(12") makes it hairball in rough swell.Its quite a blast when its flat though.

[radastaff]

Originally Posted by T Bone

Verizon has a waterproof phone.I have had them for 4 years now.they are not as pretty as others but they work great and are quite waterproof.I think its a good Idea to have one.
Personally I am much more scared of sinking/submerging my little whaler skiff.It has floatation but my OB weighs 60 lbs and with the low freeboard it has(12") makes it hairball in rough swell.Its quite a blast when its flat though.

right
the casio g-zone
have had mine for 2 1/2 years
still going strong
well
battery sucks now

[radastaff]

Originally Posted by GregAndrew

I Googled "Pool Noodle Buoyancy" and got a forum where it was discussed. I didn't double check the math, but one guy figured that a 1 foot piece of 3.5 inch noodle would float a 4 lb piece of steel. So, by my figuring, (3) 5 foot noodles should be enough to compensate for the gear that is more dense than water.

There was also some mention of 2 part marine foam that looked promising. You mix the 2 parts together and pour it into the area to be filled and it expands to 30-1 the size. You could flip your yak over on some horses and pour that into the area on the outside of the leg wells. Would have to check if there is a reaction problem with the plastic used in yaks though.

how bout
sticking a pvc tube in ure yak(for rod storage)say 4" or 6" di
then filling the entire interior with that expanding foam(great idea and ive seen the stuff for insulation in action)
then hogging out a small compartment right around the hatch area
for storage
bet that thing would float pretty good
and not allow for much water in the hold
and still give u space for rod storage

[dsafety]

I see a number of solutions to this problem. Frankly, it is one that I never considered to be a problem before. But obviously at least some types of kayaks can sink.

As I mentioned in another thread, an inflatable bladder or two that can be inflated by hitting some sort of a panic button is one way to go. My concern with this option is that it may degrade over time and not work when needed.

A passive flotation device seems like a better idea. The noodle idea is one to consider but I wonder where they could be placed so they do not take up space needed for accessible storage.

I am thinking that by simply taking a few one gallon milk jugs, sealing them so they are air tight and stuffing them into the unused space in the bow and stern might just do the trick. They could be bungeed or glued in place.

Bob

[sandydiego]

Originally Posted by dsafety

I am thinking that by simply taking a few one gallon milk jugs, sealing them so they are air tight and stuffing them into the unused space in the bow and stern might just do the trick. They could be bungeed or glued in place.

Bob

Hey honey I need a couple of jugs for the yak....... I know you weren't trying to be funny. It's not a bad idea.

[KirkG.]

I like the pool noodle idea. Take 4, 5ft long pool noodles and, since they are hollow, jam them along the sides of the yak. The scupper holes would hold them to the side and would probably take up minimul space and provide max flotation.

KirkG.

[dgax65]

You can use inflatable hull fenders for flotation. I used to have 8 fenders strung together in two daisy chains. I could slide a string of four outside the scupper posts in the hull of my Drifter. The fenders are extremely durable and hold air virtually forever. The problem with them is the weight and the loss of internal storage space. When I started paddling an X-Factor with a Kayatank I lost the ability to stow rods on the centerline. I had to stow them outboard of the scupper posts. To do that, I had to scrap the fenders. I only kept a couple in the stern and one in the bow; just enough to keep a swamped yak near the surface.

Inflatable fenders
http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?path=-1|10391|321174|30250|321909&id=1110593

As I mentioned in the thread about pool noodles, they won't make a swamped kayak stable enough to hold you upright, but they will keep it at the surface so you can recover your gear and the kayak. I flooded my Drifter just to see how it would handle with 7 fenders inside. It remained floating with the deck barely awash, but I couldn't sit on it.