I didn't do end pours in my expedition and haven't had any trouble but make sure that your ends are sealed well. I put my heron in for a second hurried launch last saturday. The conditions were rough here in VT 4-5 ft waves and strong winds. I was out with 5 other kayakers. I was so excited to paddle the heron that I took it out with out any deck rigging and before checking it for water tightness. I had taken it out once before in calmer water and didn't have a problem. Well this time it did. I later found a gap where the tip of the rear deck didn't meet the hull. It was a small gap 1/16 of an inch by 1/2" In the rough water the stern was submerged a lot more than on my calm weather test. We paddled out a good hour and a half into the wind on lake champlain. We came to a concensus that it was time to turn around. As we started to turn and play one of the kayakers capsized and wet exited and a rescue commenced. I was a bit far away so i decided to hang out until it was completed. As I was turning back to surf again I capsized. I tried to roll up but wasn't sucessful I hadn't even tried a roll in my new boat yet. So I wet exited. I was getting pounded by waves but I emptied most of the water out of the boat flipped it upright and waited for rescue. Soon enough a boat was beside me and I was back in and ready to go. I went about 10 minutes of surfing and I was over again determined to roll up and be spared a rescue for a second time I tried twice to roll up and blew both rolls I had most of my body out of the water but couldn't complete them. I figured I was trying too hard and not concentrating. So I was rescued for the second time. By this time I was really close to shore and I was ducking around a protected corner and sure enough I capsize. Man I thought to myself this heron is a tippy boat. I tried to roll again but it felt like the boat was glued to the water upside down. I couldn't get it to budge. By this time though my arms were pretty cooked anyway. So wet exit #3. Now the guys who I was paddling with put two and two together and took off both hatches when I was in the boat again. The rear compartment was swamped and the front had also taken on some water. By this time I was so tired that the last 15 min paddle back to the launch site felt like an eternity but I stayed upright and learned many lessons

1 Check the watertighness of your boat. fill the compartments with water and see where it leaks out.

2 Having a slippery boat with no deck rigging doesn't endear you with your rescuers.

3 Paddle with as many experienced and physically strong people as you can on rough days. Turning into the wind to paddle to a capsized paddler takes a lot of strengh after you have paddled for a couple hours.

4 Thank god for the drysuit. It was the first time I really needed it.

Happy paddling

Tom

: Hi-

: Chip wrote: > (we didn't do end-pours).

: Well, I haven't done them yet.

: I'd like to hear what the consensus is on the importance of end pours.

: Did a search on them in archives, no real info there.
: I just haven't had the time or weather for them yet.

: Thanks for all your help-

: Jack Gilman