: You may only expect to need a pump if you have had a wet exit, and to use
: a handpump, your spraydeck has to be open, so somewhere accessible from
: the cockpit is the ideal place for it. But think: you might want your pump
: if someone else has had a wet exit, in which case, opening your deck may
: be a risk - do you want two of you with cockpits full of water ?

: My choice is usually to keep the pump behind the cheek plate on the right
: hand side of the cockpit easily accessible if the deck is off, but without
: opening anything nominally watertight.

: ; would be nice to keep topside uncluttered. I'm

: A kneetube provides an excellent place to brace your knees, which is great
: if your thigh braces are perhaps not up to much. But - once again considering
: rescues - one way of getting back into your boat is to enter the cockpit
: feet first from the aft deck, face downwards so you can keep low and stable.
: Once far enough in, you flip over and sit down. This is very much more
: difficult with a knee tube as there isn't room for your legs to cross over !
: If you have a big keyhole cockpit, you may be able to enter by sitting
: astride
: the boat, sitting into the cockpit and pulling your feet in last, which is
: not impeded by the knee tube. So whether a knee tube is for you depends a lot
: on the size of your cockpit, whether you hope to be able to self-rescue or
: will always paddle in a group, and whether you will paddle in the rough.

: Personally, I like a tiny ocean cockpit, but I tend to paddle in a group
: so it's unlikely I will need to self-rescue, and my favoured technique
: for self-rescue is re-entry and roll, so I am happy to have a kneetube.

: I made three small forms to fit on a little baby strong back (a 1.2x0.8"
: bit
: of timber) so that I could strip-build knee tubes as required. The size of
: the tube was chosen to allow for a 10-cm diameter Kajak-sport hatch on the
: cockpit end. It's useful for snacks and bits and pieces I will need whilst
: at rest on calm water - not for things I'd want in a hurry or when it is
: rough.

: The link is to my printable plans for three forms for my knee tube. The
: file isn't big (42k) but the graphic is 4640x2360 and is designed to print
: on A3 paper at 300 dpi... so you may prefer not to try to open it in your
: browser :-) The blue outline is the form nearest the cockpit, and the red
: one for the one nearest the forward bulkhead. You adjust the length to fit
: the distance from your cockpit rim to that bulkhead (or a bit longer, and
: cut to fit if, like me, you have a non-flat bulkhead).

: Bill Hamm: Not sure I'd want any emergency gear under the deck, when you

: I have one of those spraydecks with a bale hole in the front, which is
: big enough to get my hand and arm inside without taking off the deck.
: As the bale hole is at the front of the deck, it would be adequate to
: reach into at least the near end of a knee tube for something you could
: find by feel ... probably easier than groping around in a bag on the aft
: deck in rough conditions, anyway ! I've certainly used it to get a camera
: from inside the cockpit and put it back again...

: A knee tube is certainly a useful place to keep stuff you want on the water,
: like suncream, snacks and drinks. Whether you want to use it for emergency
: kit is a separate decision. I would probably be happy keeping flares in
: there,
: since the manufacturers don't certify them to keep working if they have been
: exposed to lots of sea water by being kept on the deck...

: Andy

Most of my boats have ocean cockpits, not enough room in front of you to pull out more than maybe a little camera, on the Greenlander not even that, only perhaps 2" of skirt in front of me. Still a camera isn't emergency equipment.

Bill H.