: John, try the sling first. What will probably happen is that the 'yak will
: not spin like a log, but will tip exactly 90 degrees, with one of your
: sealed flotation units down, perhaps under water, and the other in the
: air. If your weight pulls the boat deeper into the water then you will
: flood the cockpit as you wish. No buckets needed. If not, then you can
: climb up to the cockpit and as you step into it, it should rotate back
: onto the water in the correct orientation.

: A canvas bucket may get out lots of water, but if it does not fit the
: curvature of the boat bottom, you'll be left with lots of water in the
: bilge. Bailing sponges remove what remains. A pump is a better deal than a
: bucket.

: If you really want to get water into the boat in a hurry, it sounds like you
: should put a hole in the bottom, and seal it with a big cork. A fill valve
: from a washing machine would do the same thing. Granted, this is a screwy
: idea to present, but I'm not too used to the idea of flooding a boat just
: to get it lower in the water for re-entry. But, as counter-intuitive as
: this concept may be, if it works, then there is no denying it.

: PGJ

Hi Paul,

I listen to every idea presented to me. I am back to working on the boat but when I have more time I will try the sling that Julie mentioned on the side just to satisfy myself. The reason I may be skeptical is that the boat works as you said it would a while back, it spins like a log (without water in it). The first time I grabbed it from the side to get water into it, it spun and the other side cracked me in the head. You can't rescue yourself if you knock yourself out at the start. Then I discovered if I forced the stern underwater and twisted the boat at the same time I could get plenty of water in it.

I have a sponge to get the last drop of water out of the boat, but I found that after paddling to shore with the boat flooded, that I could pull it parrallel to shore and tip it shoreward dumping most of the water, then by lifting the stern and then the bow, all of the water would run out. It was fast and a pleasent suprise to me. I very well may put a pump in to take out the small amount of water while I am paddling. A lot of trial and error going on here. For instance, my $7 seat that I put Tough Stuff foam underneath to conform to the haul shape is now back to square one. I put a coat of epoxy on the foam before I put on my velcro fasteners, but the foam has slow been shrinking because of a reaction with the epoxy. Who would have thought.

John