Subject: Re: [baidarka] Rescues in Non-bulkheaded Hulls
From: kschmidt (kschmidt@akutan.aesd.schoolaccess.net)
Date: Fri Apr 15 2005 - 15:14:14 EDT
Wolfgang suggested this idea to me about adding buoyancy to the
baidarka.... he suggested box wines bags be inflated and inserted
fore and aft. It works, and on the next boat I skin, the bag will
be inflated in the extreme ends of the frame before the skin goes on.
Kurt
>One of the main raps against baidarkas, and against all
>non-bulkheaded hulls, is that they are difficult to rescue quickly.
>We often play and train in Deception Pass: dramatic cliffs, high
>speed water, complex underwater structures, heavy boat traffic.
>
>NWOC, a fine kayak outfitter in Seattle run by John and Herbie
>Meyer, finishes their novice classes with a training day in the
>Pass. I have gone with them a few times in my baidarka, tagging
>along and helping with some of the weaker paddlers as they teach
>ferrying and fast water skills in Canoe Pass, a narrow and more
>protected high flow channel adjacent to the famous whirlpools of
>Deception Pass. For the most part, NWOC trains in Necky Looksha IV
>hulls, a multi-chine fiberglass hull with intermediate performance
>-- and nicely bulkheaded. I remember one day when a student missed
>her stroke in a strong current and dumped in the middle. I swept
>downstream to block her from being carried into open water, but it
>really wasn't necessary as she was able to maintain touch with her
>hull. The lead instructor that day (sorry, name has escaped me) had
>her hull tee'd over his, completely cleared of water, upright
>bow-to-stern, and her back in her boat in less than 90 seconds.
>
>We've practiced (studied) that TX rescue with Raven, my first
>baidarka, at the Thetis Island symposium; although never so quickly
>or professionally. What we found was that even with the float bags,
>the hull held so much water in the ends that the deck beams were
>heard snapping from the weight when we pulled it over the rescue
>hulls. I have determined that the only safe way to fully evacuate a
>flooded baidarka is with two rescue boats, doing a slow coordinated
>roll with a fore-aft rocking motion; but this presumes water that is
>quiet enough to have three baidarkas side-by-side, with no paddles
>available to steady the hulls (H rescue). My presumption is that
>water troubled enough to cause a capsize is seldom that forgiving.
>Most of my deep water rescues have depended on very full float bags,
>and have involved reentering a partially flooded baidarka which is
>subsequently pumped out. Often this becomes impossible because the
>partially flooded hull continues to swamp water throug!
> h the open cockpit.
>
>I know the standard rescue techniques, and have practiced them
>frequently. That is not my issue here. In my experience, it is very
>important for us to displace as much water as possible in a
>submerged hull, particularly in the ends of the hulls. The problem
>here is the sheer volume of water inside an unbulkheaded hull. I am
>sure a fiberglass hull similarly filled would also be permanently
>damaged. Yet this is the fastest and safest rescue I have ever seen.
>We have to find a way to fill the entire hull with air, but
>bulkheads are not an option. What are we to do?
>
>The beach balls sound ingenious. Good idea. I have toyed with
>cutting styrofoam plugs for the bow and stern, and fitting them
>more-or-less permanently into the hull. Float bags are difficult to
>push all the way fore and aft. I tried once using a pulley-string
>arrangement, but I abandoned it as too much extra "stuff" in the
>hull. I may revisit that. Another option might be to put a flexible
>stick of some sort inside the float bag to hold it rigid when
>inserting into the hull, so we can push it all the way in. I
>recently duct-taped the ends of my float bags in half, so I could
>slip a paddle into the fold and push the bags all the way in.
>
>Having said this about placement of the bags in the hull, still
>leaves the issue of total volume. Once the bags are inflated, their
>displacement volume is fixed no matter where they are in the hull.
>What getting the bags all the way fore and aft will do is open up
>free space behind the seat and ahead of your feet, both of which can
>then be filled with air bottles, beach balls, or other float bags.
>Even without additional floatation, moving the water to the cockpit
>will allow more of it to be dumped out when the hull is initially
>rolled upside-down and then upright prior to hoisting the bow over
>the rescue boat.
>
>I really think it is an important safety issue: focus on the volume
>of water that can flood into our hulls. It is important to preclude
>that volume by displacing it with air or foam or something, and to
>move that volume as close to the cockpit rim as possible. Ideally, I
>would like to be able to reenter and paddle a completely flooded
>baidarka without having to pump it immediately. Two or three inches
>of water in the bottom can still be paddled. Barring this, being
>able to TX rescue a baidarka without damaging the hull would be an
>advantage. That would get the hull within that 2-3 inch area,
>usually sufficient to make it to shelter. The only way to do that is
>to reduce the total volume of water that can enter the hull, and to
>block the entry of that water to the ends of the hull.
>
>Paddling Deception Pass turns this discussion into much more than
>intellectual curiosity. We each have our own "Deception Pass"; my
>thoughts turn to the whirlpools and cascades of the Naruto narrows
>in Japan. Before you say too much on this one, I would suggest
>trying it out with a buddy in calm water. Try rescuing a fully
>flooded baidarka. Try it again with float bags. How long does it
>take? Could you do it in fast water? Stormy water? I am planning
>to do some more testing this May at Thetis Island. Let's see if we
>can make each other and our friends more safe in difficult water.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>James Mitchell
>baidarka@earthlink.net
>3815 N. Pearl
>Tacoma WA 98407 USA
>425-273-0884
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