: John,

: I hate to be a nay-sayer, but I don't think your floatation is going to do
: what you expect. Since it's on the inside of the hull, it probably won't
: offer much, if any, additional stability for re-entering after a capsize,
: except in the case that the cockpit is completely swamped (which is rarely
: the case). It WILL reduce the amount of water that the cockpit can hold,
: which is certainly beneficial, and as you say, it will provide additional
: dry storage.

: Also, I've paddled a swamped boat and unless you get most of the water out,
: you don't go anywhere quickly. I suspect that this is the reason that most
: rescues emphasize getting back into the boat quickly and getting it bailed
: out ASAP. There's also the hypothermia causing effect of sitting in cold
: water. It's certainly not as bad as swimming, but it's not as good as
: being in a dry boat, either. Overall, I would suggest that paddling a
: swamped boat should be a last resort, not a planned part of a self-rescue
: technique.

Hi Brian,

You may be right. When I first come on this board I posted this train of thought and most didn't think it was feasible. But I've got to try this, and its no extra work since I want the side storage anyway. I believe I remember a canoe company that had floatation in its gunnels as a safty feature to keep it from rolling when swamped. Also, I saw a story on the on the web of a man that thinks the paddle float rescue is dangerous because its complicated and the kayak/canoe is unstable after its filled with water, especially for children. He said a flooded but stablized boat wasn't hard to paddle to shore and that blow up sponsors are much safer and children can use this system with very little training and had no trouble paddling to shore. According to the book "SEA-KAYAKER,DEEP TROUBLE" you have less body heat loss if you are sitting in a flooded boat rather then being in the water, even though you may feel colder. The bottom line is you may have a half hour to rescue yourself in cold water before your body shuts down. The book had many stories of people getting back into their flooded unstable kayaks and falling right back into the water, mostly because of the rough conditions. Now, I try to visualize my kayak sitting in the water not flooded. If I try to get in from the side it will roll and flood. But when flooded the floation will take hold and the side of the kayak will be buoyant, just as if you grabbed onto a life jacket floating in the water. You can hardly sink it. This is how I see it, and I will do all of the tests this summer and post pictures on the board. I don't have any experience paddling a swamped boat as you do so I may be completely WET.

Take care,
John