Deep Water Re-Entry

[Flatstalker]

After reading Heywoods post about the kayak rescue and having my first uncomfortable experience in a kayak, I realize how unprepared I have been all these years. I wonder if it's just me or most of us. Has everyone tried/practiced a water re-entry? What about people with Natives & Commanders? Can it be done in these boats without swamping it?

Damion

[Rik]

What about people with Natives & Commanders? Can it be done in these boats without swamping it?

Damion

Not easily, it seems.

http://www.texaskayakfisherman.com/foru ... hp?t=95967" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[DaveR]

I have no illusion that I will be able to reenter my Native in deep water. I depend on my pal Rik to help me out. That is if he remembers what day we are supposed to fish!

[Rik]

Where the hell are you? You were supposed to be here 45 mins ago.

[Manning]

As a new owner of a Native Ultimate this is a little sobering. Nice to know what can and can not be done with this boat.

[clwpaddler]

Has anyone ever tried the scupper that Sunfish sailors use on there little boat. It has a captive ball that seals the drain hole when sitting still but siphons when the boat is in motion.

[Evan]

It's hard to imagine a scenario where the Native would fill completely with water like that. You would have to really TRY to get it that full. I know, I know, anything can happen out there, but you might be shocked at how many gallons of water they will actually hold (I've tried). I still take my Native to the beach and launch into the surf with no spray skirt, still never had a hint of a problem, still not worried about the supposed "limitations" of this style of kayak.

[Rik]

I can easily see how it would happen. Very similar to how it happens to canoes quite often although the Native is harder to put on it's side. Once water starts coming in over the side, it feeds itself. As water comes in, that side goes lower. More water, more lower.

I think if I did a lot of open, deep water in places where help or assistance in not likely, I might consider one of those inflatable rescue bags. That would at least get the gunnels above the water so you could pump. In that link I put up, pumping would have been a futile effort.

[DoubleM]

Sounds like when the water warms we should have a native deep water re-entry challenge, based on time and amount of water in the boat.

[Evan]

I can easily see how it would happen. Very similar to how it happens to canoes quite often although the Native is harder to put on it's side.

Have you actually tried swamping the Native in deep water? I can stand with both feet on one gunnel (all 180lbs of me) and it's still not enough to dip the edge below the surface. Maybe if you had it totally loaded down with two people and gear it would be possible, but even then it wouldn't happen easily. Or quickly. The only way to really fill the boat up would be to take big waves over the bow/stern. Having done that during a beach launch once, and once while foolishly anchored in high winds, I can attest to the fact that it takes several good-sized waves worth of water in the boat before performance even begins to be affected. You'd have to be in some REALLY hairy $#!t to have a problem.

[Rik]

How you got there is worth a discussion but the real question that you should have an answer for is what you're going to do if/when you do get there.

I don't have any statistics but I'm guessing there's a whole lot of dead people whose last thoughts were "That wasn't supposed to happen".

[Flatstalker]

I took my Commander out two weeks ago in conditions that in retrospect, I should not have. Winds had picked up more than forecast, creating a considerable chop in the bay. The kayak did take on quite a bit of water but I was never really concerned about flooding it. With that said, if I had taken a series of large waves over the bow or side it cetainly would have created an interesting situation. After experiencing this, I believe a spray skirt is a good idea and will probably purchase one. I certainly realize that this situation was my own fault and was completely avoidable if I had just stayed in a sheltered area rather than crossing open water.

My real motivation for starting this post wasn't a flood scenario but rather the fact that many people purchase this style kayak because it offers us the ability to stand and sight fish. I have owned a Native and now have a Commander and for me, if I'm not paddling to cover ground, I'm standing. It's not difficult to imagine a scenario where you loose your balance for a moment and end up in the water. I have lost my balance on a few occasions in the Native and was fortunate to land in the boat on the seat. If I were to have fallen in the water, it would have required a water re-entry or swimming the kayak and gear back to shore. This is why I asked if a re-entry was posible in this style kayak and if any of the many owners have actually tried it.

[L.B.]

Good subject here.

Any of you with kids might want to consider doing what I did. I made my kids practice re-entry in the pool ( without touching the sides) before they were allowed to go out in their own boat. As far as that goes, if you have never done it try it for yourself.

[Devodud]

Talking about swamping a native, I do not think it would be that hard if you were caught in decent swells with a chop.

I have been caught in this situation in a 17' canoe. At first there was only a little spray coming over the bow. I had quite a distance to cover though, so eventaully the water built up enough weight in the boat to make it ride just low enough that the spray turned into a splash, the splash turned into a whole bunch of water with each swell, and finally the boat went down and I was swimming a half a mile with all of my gear.

This incident had a lot to do with me ditching the canoe for a SOT.