It does work, but it's not as easy as having lines. If it's easier people will probably use it, and I'd really like to see people use float bags and any other safety stuff. I don't know that I'd want to carry a stick with me in case I needed to replace a bag if I had to remove one, and you can't always count on finding a stick on shore when you need one.

On my stuff I don't bother with pulleys. I did use a piece of UHMW plastic dedicated to the task on my first kayak, but there's so much stuff up in the ends as long as you remember to run the line it doesn't matter. I have drilled a hole in the stem piece, but on my last kayak I think I just put the line around the foreword most deck beam.

Commercial float bags all have loops or grommets in the ends. That's how we tie them into whitewater kayaks so they don't vacate the boat during an unintentional swim. I'm not against making them, but I personally have to draw the line somewhere, and that's the spot. That's not to say that I wouldn't do it at some point in the future, it's just that it would take a lot of effort, and judging by my previous attempts to build air bladders, it wouldn't work for as long as a commercial bag would.

m