: John ----

: Thanks for posting the pictures! I'm glad it works. How many gallons of water
: do you think you ended up with? Have you thought about using a pump to get
: the water out after you get back in? (A bailing bucket, TETHERED to the
: boat, would also help). That would save you an immediate trip to shore.
: Also, if you've got a load of camping gear, you probably won't need to add
: so much water to the boat in the first place in order to have it low
: enough so you can climb back in. If you're in conditions bad enough to
: unintentionally capsize a stable boat like yours, getting back to shore
: may be a little tougher than it is on the calm test lake, AND the closest
: shoreline may not happen to have anywhere where you could land (cliffs or
: other hazards making it unwise to attempt landing a flooded & thus
: less maneuverable craft.) If it were me, rather than expending effort to
: paddle a swamped boat to shore, I'd rather spend the effort bailing &
: pumping the cockpit out.

: I haven't seen one in person, so I can't comment on their feasibility in your
: case, but I know that some people have installed battery operated bilge
: pumps in their boats.

: Another thought is to attach a sling of nylon webbing in the middle of the
: side of the cockpit (securely and safely, so it doesn't become a potential
: entanglement trap), that you could reach & deploy when you're in the
: water next to your boat (after you've gotten it upright), and then use the
: sling as a step to help you climb back in -- that way you wouldn't have to
: flood your cockpit.

: Julie Kanarr

Hi Julie,

The sling attached to the side of the yak would only work if the yak is flooded, or the boat would just spin over like a log. For the side compartment to work as pontoons there must be water inside of the boat. And there must be enough water. I know that's an odd concept but it is true. I am guessing there is about 50 gal in the boat to make it untipable and I can check that later. My pumps will be two 1 1/2 gal collapsable canvas buckets, one in storage and one velcroed to the inside of the cockpit for easy access. I will use this to put extra water into the cockpit for stability and to bail it out also.

The load of camping gear is an unknown and later on I need to flood the boat with all gear on board. My main worry here is the gear would add boyancy to the boat so I couldn't get enough water into the cockpit to stablize the boat for side entry. But if that is true, I would still have my velcroed bucket handy to dip more water into the boat.

I do need to test the flooded yak out in rough weather on a nearby lake and see how it paddles. Being low and stable I think it will do just fine. As I learn more about this boat I will have the option to paddle to shore flooded or bailed out, which ever works best.

I have decided on 9" blow up buoys with eye holes for attachment as my stern and bow floation. I will use a bright red and yellow that could be detached and put on the outside to help in a visual rescue.

John