canoe - kayak malfunctions
our boats are pretty darn simple but no doubt we have malfunctions from loading and unloading them to putting them in the water to getting in them. how about tipping over or losing a paddle . some of our incidents are funny maybe some are not and yes since we can be at the launch ramp or at a crowded lake or river we may not be nude so that's ok too so post a few stories .
well the funny one that pops to mind was with my sit in kayak at the launch ramp trying to get in the kayak I was trying to be as bare in public as I could and bring as little as I could me in a black speeedo , a towel , my cooler and a mc'ds cold ice tea I put in the formed cup holder in from . the water was close to knee deep as I put one foot into my kayak and as I move to get in I did something wrong as I and the kayak flipped over as my legs went up and I went into the water luckily no one was at the ramp and I wasn''t nude yet because what a show that was.
recently canoe malfunction on fishing trip , I have one of those cheap pelican plastic canoes they are pretty cool for price but this is also bargain basement stuff including the seat yes if you have one you know where i'm headed. everything loaded for a evening on pond I step in and sit down and bam my ass is on the floor of the canoe as the cheap plastic strips supporting the seat to the side snap yeah ouch this old guy doesn't need this. well i'm here my center seat is made to support fishing equipment and I have a trolling motor and mount behind so I can't use the front seat either and darn I want to fish but my old legs can't do the knee canoe thing like young folks yeah I tried nor sit on the motor mount for very long - don't attempt this nude . hour in this wasn't going well so headed to ramp and home.
I drove over 4 hours from home with my kayak and realized I screwed up on the paddle I brought. I have a 230cm and a 240cm of the same type paddle and I brought both right sides of the two paddles so they would not connect together. Ingenuity kicked in and with a short stick for inside the tubing, a piece of one of my trek poles on the outside for some added rigidity, a kayak strap and some duct tape I made it work. That worked for a while till the inner stick broke and I had to re-do it but this time with a piece of green wood not something dry and hard. The next day I went to a local outfitters store and bought another paddle. I was camping by the lake for several days and this all happened this last week. I started out paddling with a speedo which came off when I got away from the boat landing.
In the afternoon there was no sun at my campsite, only out on the water. I had seen only two or three other kayaks or canoes out there during each day and none in the afternoon so on my last day I paddled out naked and just enjoyed the sun one more time. Suddenly a pontoon boat came slowly around the corner loaded with more people than it probably should be carrying. They were maybe a couple hundred yards away. I turned my kayak around so my back was to them and struggled to get my speedo on. I paddled up to my campsite and got out while they watched. I almost certain they could tell I was naked and they cruised close by my lakeside campsite at least 4 times before they left. When they were gone I paddled back out naked again.
My wife and I were paddling our tandem kayak in the Santa Barbara Channel on our way to spend a nude day at More Mesa Beach. As we surfed in to the beach, I commented that we had just missed a rock. My wife turned to look and of course it was enough of a weight-shift at that speed to cause the boat to turn. We rolled in the surf and got dumped onto the beach right in front of a crowd. And of course the boat ended up filled with sand and water. Thankfully nothing was damaged but my pride.
Well my wife and I paddled out to a little deserted beach area and landed in order to get out and stretch. We were wearing auto-inflate PFD's. It was a very calm protected cove with the water as still as a swimming pool. She just hurried a little to much and caught her foot getting out of her kayak. Down she went in 3" of water and got just wet enough to blow the vest. I was irritated and gave her "the look" , as it would cost 20-25 bucks to replace the cartridge. How could she let the vest blow in ankle deep water! We went on our way from this little cove for an 9 mile paddle to our take out destination which was an outfitter with a little protected beach area and had a busy rental and tour business in season. As we approached their beach we could see a large group getting ready for a tour and a number of others launching. We awaited an opening and landed amongst the group. I thought we looked like seasoned kayak veterans in our perfectly outfitted touring yaks. Trying to look like a pro, I poked into an opening between rental boats and planned to jump out and exit quickly and get out of the way. Sure enough, caught my foot in the cockpit and down I went in 3" of water. Bang! and my vest blew in front of the big group of tourists. I was a little red and everybody was laughing at my plight. My wife will never let me forget it! We now kayak with manual inflate PFDs and I keep my mouth shut if she has any mishaps.
Well my wife and I paddled out to a little deserted beach area and landed in order to get out and stretch. We were wearing auto-inflate PFD's. It was a very calm protected cove with the water as still as a swimming pool. She just hurried a little to much and caught her foot getting out of her kayak. Down she went in 3" of water and got just wet enough to blow the vest. I was irritated and gave her "the look" , as it would cost 20-25 bucks to replace the cartridge. How could she let the vest blow in ankle deep water! We went on our way from this little cove for an 9 mile paddle to our take out destination which was an outfitter with a little protected beach area and had a busy rental and tour business in season. As we approached their beach we could see a large group getting ready for a tour and a number of others launching. We awaited an opening and landed amongst the group. I thought we looked like seasoned kayak veterans in our perfectly outfitted touring yaks. Trying to look like a pro, I poked into an opening between rental boats and planned to jump out and exit quickly and get out of the way. Sure enough, caught my foot in the cockpit and down I went in 3" of water. Bang! and my vest blew in front of the big group of tourists. I was a little red and everybody was laughing at my plight. My wife will never let me forget it! We now kayak with manual inflate PFDs and I keep my mouth shut if she has any mishaps.
I think we have all taken a spill from a kayak yeah I did mine at the boat ramp too as for the self inflate PFD I kinda wanted one but that was my first thought as i'm kinda clumsy and I could see I would no doubt need a spare. after a spill is over always fun to laugh about.
I think kayaks are ONLY real kayaks if you are IN it, and it's solid, (not a fancy blow up air mattress) and your center of gravity and ass is below water level when paddling.
I can go with that but with one more qualifier. It must be rollable. IOW, when you find yourself upside down, you should be able to roll it back upright without ever exiting your seat.
Having said that, I have nothing against owning toy boats in addition to real ones. Toys are all about fun. The problem comes only when people use toys in situations that call for something "real".
I can think of dozens of mishaps I've had over the years. One of the dumbest though was single handedly trying to load a 16' Royalex canoe onto the top of a Jeep Cherokee with the wind blowing like a sombitch. A hard gust spun and lifted the thing like a run away beach canopy and sent it crashing to the ground 20' away. It knocked me down when it flew by but I wasn't hurt and I was lucky nobody else was standing behind me. Not even a scratch on the canoe but the Jeep suffered a large dent in the roof with some paint knocked off.
Lesson learned: Don't lift light stuff over your head in a howling/gusting wind.
I 'm kind of a 'purist' here I guess: I think kayaks are ONLY real kayaks if you are IN it, and it's solid, (not a fancy blow up air mattress) and your center of gravity and ass is below water level when paddling. I can see why lots of people have accidents in the sit-upon kayaks with the dozen heel notches. Somehow I think they and stand up paddle boards are 'cousins' or something. so similar in shape, function and instability. Blow up boats are convenient, but you sure are limited to where you can go with them,,,,as sharp rocks or a surprise item in shallow waters will gut' you wide open and ruin your boat for good with a big gash. I like a boat that can bash off a headwall in rapids and can take it.
My younger self that wanted nothing less than white water or waves crashing on rocks certainly agrees with you. My 74 year old self thinks this over and says that it ultimately depends on why you kayak/canoe and where you do it. For example, for fly fishing the flats along the Texas coast the hot setup seems to be a 12ft sit on top. We will paddle to a likely area, stick a pole through a drain hole to anchor the boat, then slip over the side and wade fish. After exhausting the area simply sit back down, pull the pole, and paddle on. (BTW, I also have friends who fish central Texas rivers from an SUP. My knees and equilibrium aren't really suited for this anymore so I have so far not attempted it.)
I took a summer class in whitewater kayaking last summer and have to admit that I love the feel of locking my knees into the hull and literally becoming one with the boat as far as balance goes. I found those short whitewater boats to be challenging to steer but loved going over and rolling right back up. I am certainly considering one of those for next summer.
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