Re- Entry Practice

[Salty Dog]

I was down the beach the week of July 13 and spent some time practicing re-entry with a stripped down yak. All went well and got some confidence getting the yak upright and getting back on the yak without a problem. Today I decided to launch from Mariners Point in Joppa Town, and try some fishing. Unfortunately the WEED was pretty bad and could not keep a line clean. So I decided to practice re-entry with a completely loaded yak. Winds were starting to kick up out of the south and water temps was around 80. Well, I can tell you that re-entry on a totally loaded yak is a lot more difficult than a stripped yak. I did not lose any of my gear but found out that the tie downs on most of my gear was deficient. Luckily I decided to practice in 5-6 foot of water. After a few attempts, I righted the yak and after only one attempt at re-entry(almost lost it) I was successful. The purpose of this thread is to let all know that now is the time to test your skills and tie downs and practice re-entry rather then waiting until an unexpected turtle. I have corrected all the weak links and feel confident that when I attempt this again (soon) all tie downs will meet my expectations. FYI, I may be a sick pup, but I really enjoyed floundering in the water today.

[Cowpokey]

It is good to have the confidence that you already know you can get back in, especially with a full load of fishing gear. I fell off my kayak by the Thomas Point lighthouse while fishing last October, totally loaded, completely unplanned...got back on the kayak in seconds.

[J. Rentch]

To follow up salty dog's discussion, when I am in unfamiliar or rough waters, I connect myself to my yak with a 15 ft piece of weed walker line. One end is clipped to my seat, the other to my PDF. Have always thought that if I ever went overboard, condition may cause my yak to drift away. It makes me feel a lot more secure.

[scott taylor]

smart move (in my opinion) to test your skills and your kayak in warm shallow water. Thanks for the reminder. One never knows how the yak is going to behave, upside down and possibly swamped, until you try it....
ST

[Pc4sun]

Thanks for posting your experience. I often wondered the difference between a full yak and empty.

[Kevin21012]

After reading your post I went out and tried it. I have only had my kayak for a couple of weeks, so this exercise also allowed me to try side saddle and to see how far my kayak would lean before going over. The first thing I learned was that when you have used up all your secondary stability it goes over fast.

I was able to climb back in without any real problem. I only tried with naked boat but since I have not had my boat long, full loaded is petty much two rods and a tackle tray. I have a sea kayak paddle float I had been carrying to help me climb back in, but I did not need to use it. After trying it several times I learned it is much easier when your life jacket is on tight.

I was surprised at how little water it took in. I think I will ditch the bilge pump I have been carrying.

Kevin21012
Jackson Kracken

[Salty Dog]

I negated to state what was "fully loaded" in my original post. I use a black pack for tackle management and had my Torqeedo 403 attached along with my wheel-ez kayak cart. I found that the black pack drained water, but not fast enough for me so I drilled 1/4" drain holds at the base every 2". I also found that the wheel-ez cart with the balloon tires attached made it more difficult to flip the yak upright. While standing in shallower water I took the wheels off the cart and stored them in the front hatch, secured the rods in the tip protector along the base of the boat

Kevin, you got a Kracken, that is a sweet boat, I demoed one at DPS. Congrats and welcome to the site.

[buzz]

Considering that for me, fully loaded means the addition of a 50lb Group 24 battery... I don't think you'll find me trying to flip my yak intentionally. Of course with that that much ballast there's less of a chance that it would turtle.

That doesn't mean I can't fall out... but I'll pass on the fully loaded trial.

[JohnE]

Good idea. If you have any doubts whether you can pull it off, I would really recommend everybody try this and make sure you can before you ever go out alone in cold water. I had to do it with my loaded outback last fall a couple miles out in icy water. I will say that it was quite difficult for me, more difficulty than I expected. Going in ice cold water is a big shock, it can disorient you and weaken your strength very quickly.

[Cowpokey]

Good idea. If you have any doubts whether you can pull it off, I would really recommend everybody try this and make sure you can before you ever go out alone in cold water. I had to do it with my loaded outback last fall a couple miles out in icy water. I will say that it was quite difficult for me, more difficulty than I expected. Going in ice cold water is a big shock, it can disorient you and weaken your strength very quickly.

Care to share your story, how did you turtle? Were you wearing immersion gear?

[JohnE]

Sure. I will start by saying that I have been out in rough conditions many times, even at night. Including conditions that would make most people turn back and call it a day. I have fished cbbt several times when I was only the only person out...not just no kayakers, not even any power boats, taking breakers over the pilings while still trying to catch some fish. This particular day when I turtled the outback, I was wearing kokatat dry pants with an extrasport dry top and a wading belt, which is a combo that has worked well for a while--I have a drysuit but the feet were leaking, so I went back to the two piece that day.

This particular day was not all that bad, mostly only 1-2' chop with occasional 3'. I was going into the waves trolling on the way out and current was running across pretty hard, perpendicular to the waves. I decided to turn back since I was not catching anything. There was not any way to head back from this spot other than with waves chasing and current running perpendicular, which can feel pretty unnerving in an outback if you have not experienced it before. That is when my outback started feeling really squirrely. I was doing ok for bit, but a larger wave came up from behind and I could not prevent it from slowly causing me to turtle. I tried to use body weight and the rudder but did not help. It was like slow motion, and next thing I knew I was in the water. I was ok at first, blowing it off and knowing in my head that I could pull off self rescue. Well, I had just finished taking a leak and did not do a good job sealing my top to my pants. My floating radio somehow became untethered and I lost track of it. No radio, dry pants filling with water slowly...started to get nervous pretty quick (I was wasting time trying to secure and save my gear after I could not get it back over on the first try). I think I got it back over on the third or 4th try. Rods were still in the rod holders, soft cooler still attached, stuff stowed below deck. Luckily there was very little water inside the hull as I made the long, cold pedal back in.

[Salty Dog]

Great story, that is why I posted now instead of cold water temps. You never know when it will happen, so why not be prepared for it. At least know the drill. I cant imagine what it would be like with cold water inside the suit with all that extra weight. Cudos to you JohnE. Great story. One I hope I will never have to post.

[JohnE]

I would add as a warning to fellow outback owners that the larger sailing rudder is great to make the yak turn on a dime, but it can cause the stern to excessively drag ass and exacerbate the squirelly feeling when waves are chasing. Add a strong current running across the rudder perpendicular to large chasing waves and you have the weakest point of that kayaks handling capabilities. One of the first times I took the outback to cbbt, I felt like I was taking on water but later figured out that it was just the heavy current (probably 2 knots or so) running across the rudder and the waves/wind chasing. The circumstances that caused me to turtle are def the weakest point of that kayak, it is very stable otherwise. I am also pretty heavy, so it probably will not be as bad for somebody lighter.

[Cowpokey]

Thanks for sharing JohnE. That sounds like it was along the lines of a perfect turtle situation. Glad you got through it.

My re-entry was my own fault, I should have gone sidesaddle while trying to rummage around in my crate, and ended up leaning backward (sideways over the gunnel) when I fell off. My kayak got to about a 30 or 40º angle, I went splash, and the kayak went back to straight and level.

[JohnE]

It is pretty amazing how unstable you can make your kayak by changing body position. I spend many hours fishing alone, often far from shore and I have always maintained the habit of trying to keep my head mostly facing forward even when I grab something out of my cooler from the rear tankwell. That is also a really good thing to bring up in a discussion about turtling safety and self rescue. When you turn your head to look back, your shoulders follow and that really sends off your balance. With all these new vantage style seats and higher seating positions in many kayaks, it is even easier to turtle or fall off by doing something as simple as reaching for an item behind you. When I had a tarpon 140, I ended up taking on an extreme amount of water in the hull one time. Paddling as fast as I could back to shore, all I did was glance over my shoulder at a power boat approaching and that was all it took...next thing I knew I was in the water.