: Hi,

: I am (finally) finishing off my Yost Sea Cruiser (wood-framed). I was going
: to make floatation bags, but needed extra materials and time, and the
: $100+ for 2 bags locally seemed a bit steep for a first SOF boat that will
: primarily be used for rolling practice.

: So, with a goal of keeping water volume down and good floatation for those
: initial wet exits, I used polystyrene foam in the stern and bow (which I
: had lying around) - large bits cut for each end so I've probably reduced
: water volume space by 1/2 or so. (Oh, and I couldn't be bothered/don't
: have time for making a sea sock at this stage).

: Anyway, it got me thinking about the amount of floatation in a kayak.

: Is there a point when you can have too much floatation? Does it cause the
: kayak to float up too high or affect performance in any way (apart from
: when swamped)?

: Just curious :-)

: Thanks,
: Darren

Here is my experience with floatation. I was after a self rescue system that didn't use a paddle float. The 12 foot boat, bottom picture worked very well. Filled with water I could pull myself into the boat with out it barrel rolling and paddle to shore. It was very stable with water in it.

So I thought this would work on the narrow long boat, top picture. It didn't. Filled with water it rolled trying to get in. When I did get in it would flip me out. It was impossible to paddle. My guess is the wider boat had much more flotation and being wider it had more leverage. The wide boat was impossible to get into until water was added because it would barrel roll and spin.

John