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Sea Kayaks Techniques Bulletin Board
Re: Whoa and Kayak litigation
Posted By: Brian Nystrom In Response To: Re: Whoa and Kayak litigation (Rod Estvan)
Date: Wednesday, 20 December 2000, at 11:33 a.m.
: Brian,
: Your 12/11/oo post raised a number of good points. I will take up some of
: them. One point you raise is that increased kayaking does not
: automatically mean more regulation. You indicate that kayaking is largely
: a "fringe" activity, you raise the issue of how many kayakers
: are on the water compared to other craft in a typical day.: Let's say five years ago off Chicago I could say that on a weekend in July I
: would see one or two kayakers, most of whom I had seen before or knew. We
: almost all bought our kayaks from one of three sources back then. In July
: on a nice day this year I might see ten to fifteen kayakers. I agree there
: are far more other water craft but the numbers of kayakers have risen in a
: big way. In major urban areas there are a good number of kayaks on the
: water, in New York I know of at least one private harbor that has a sign
: specifically telling kayakers not to enter. None of Chicago's harbors have
: prohibited kayaks as yet.There is no doubt that kayaking has seen a "boom" in recent years; I'm part of it, for that matter. However, we are still a minority compared to power boaters, sailors and personal watercraft users. I also suspect that the boom will be a temporary (possibly cyclic) phenomenon, as it has been with many other sports. I'm sure there will be a certain degree of permanent increase, but I would expect significant attrition after participation hits it's peak. The question then becomes: Is the sport going to continue to grow or has it hit its peak already?
: On the issue of Marine insurance, first in Illinois I have to register my
: kayaks just like I do my sail boat. I have seen kayaks and wind surfers
: collide with damage to both. I almost hit a wind surfer who cut accross my
: right of way last year, he fell in and I was going to yell at him, but he
: was only about 13 year old, and his dad was on the beach already yelling
: at him. Chicago bans during the summer Kayaks from landing at all beaches
: except 3. (I would also add that the National Park Service prohibits
: kayaking and surfing at certain beaches also.) The Chicago Park District's
: answer as to why they did this when the question was posed by a local
: kayaking group was because of liability issues realting to swimmers. These
: are some of the reasons that I believe insurance could become an issue in
: areas of our country with high population density.With all due respect, Chicago, New York and other major metropolitan areas are not representative of the rest of the country. Perhaps you are correct for your local area, but I doubt that insurance will become an issue in most of the country. Only a few states require kayak registration (Illinois and Ohio come to mind) and it's probably only because the local bureaucrats see it as a revenue source.
I can understand the beach restrictions. There are some local beaches that restrict kayaks from using the sections of the beaches where swimmers concentrate. Frankly, I wouldn't want to use them anyway. As you know, surfing a kayak is only a semi-controlled endeavor. Skewering a swimmer is much too great a risk at high occupancy beaches. It's simply not worth it, whether it's legal to use the beach or not.
: On the issue of using sponsons in high surf. I agree completely with you that
: if you flip with sponsons on you will have a hard time righting your
: kayak. But my experience has also shown that sponsons radically slow you
: down and have allowed me to land easier. The reality is if I wipe out I am
: washing up on the shore any way so I am not doing a wet entry. Over the
: years my skill level has improved and I can deal with fairly large surf.
: But the one time I noted in my last post I was very glad I had them. To be
: honest generally I don't mind taking on the surf and losing it is always
: possible. But for what ever reason I had a real bad feeling about how the
: surf was breaking and all I could think about was how my kayak was going
: to be trashed. I guess we all have psyed our selfs out on occasion.One thing that I didn't make clear is that kayak sponsons are a disadvantage only when you are beam to the waves. If you're bow or stern to the waves, there is no problem. Since you say that they slow you considerably when landing through surf, I can see where they could be an advantage, as long as you can keep the boat from broaching. If you do broach in substantial surf, you're in trouble.
As for capsizing and righting the boat, my main point was that a capsize in a sponson equipped boat necessitates a wet exit, as there is no possibility of rolling back up. I'm of the school of thought that wet exits are a last resort and should be avoided at all costs, short of drowning. I don't know about you, but I feel much safer landing in surf when I'm in my boat than I do when I'm out of it.
: You raised the issue that relative to other water craft, kayaks have less
: accidents. I think you may be right, one day I will have to look at the
: Coast Guard data on that issue, I know they have a code for kayaks. But I
: will say this, because I am also a sailor and have beeen a member of a
: sailing club for years, I get information from the Coast Guard area for
: the Great Lakes. I also read a statement from the new USCG commander for
: the Great Lakes in which he specificaly stated he wanted greater
: enforcement for safety targeted specifically at jet skis and kayaks.The question here is what kind of enforcement does he mean? Most likely, he means enforcing regulations regarding PFD's, yielding to other watercraft and paddling in restricted areas. These are all good and reasonable regulations. It doesn't necessarily mean that the commander wants more regulations or restrictions. As far as I know, local CG commanders cannot arbitrarily write their own regulations, they can only enforce those that are given to them. However, they probably have the authority to place usage restrictions in problem areas.
: I think this statement was based on complaints from boaters, I know I have
: heard some less than pleasant comments from sailors about kayakers who
: have not yeilded to larger craft in narrow water ways. (Most truely bad
: comments are aimed at jet skis.) The one place we kayakers do not have the
: right of way.This is another area where education is the key. This is equally true of all watercraft users. We kayakers currently have what amounts to a voluntary education program that leaves it up the the paddler to learn what they need to know. Obviously, this doesn't work all that well (present company excluded). I can certainly see where mandatory boater education could become the rule if we fail to police our own ranks adequately. I have to confess to not knowing all the rules of the various waterways around here, though I do know enough to stay well clear of ALL larger or more powerful vessels. By never assuming that any other vessel will yield, most conflicts, confrontations and accidents can be avoided. Besides, the small size of a kayak makes it easier for me to yield, even if it is not required. Hopefully, a little overt courtesy will be reciprocated by other boaters and we'll all benefit.
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