The question was posed about alternatives, this is an alternative. It's not for everyone, I'm not advocating it as a cure all, or trying to tell anyone they must use it. If it strikes your fancy to try, go for it. Otherwise, skip it and try something else. As for using garbage, why not? Most of my kayak is built from trash. I only purchased the luan ply (considered garbage by many), the glass cloth and the resin. The rest was trash. Scrounged, found or given to me by friends and neighbors.

Again, no one, least of all me, is trying to tell you to go this route. Just discussing the possibilities of a completely free and probably very effective and reliable emergency floatation system.

> Okay I just have to respond to this. First of all have any of
> you considered bulkheads? Second have you considered putting all those
> little bottles in one at a time through the small hole? C'mon buy
> some float bags and stick them in once and blow them up as you need
> them. Also when you use float bags they are freat for holding other
> things from moving around in your boat while paddling and depending
> on what it is changing your center of gravity with each ripple in
> the water. And don't any of you want to spend some time on the water
> rather than hours filling up your boats with someone elses garbage?
>