A roll is one self rescue tool
Posted by: kayamedic
on Jun-20-12 9:19 AM (EST)
and not the only one.. What does make self rescue possible is not having much water in the boat. That either entails use of float bags or sealed bulkheads in each end. Rec boats annoyingly have either one or no bulkheads.
Swamp..and the reasons for capsize are many including simply not paying attention on a beautiful day or looking overboard.. and you have a rec boat with one end filled with water and the other end looking at the sky.. Impossible for one to self rescue and incredibly hard even with a second boat. At least with minimal water to pump out its easier to get back in to the boat and the boat is more stable than filled with water.
I saw a whole bunch of such boats at WalMart the other day and they scared the crap out of me.
I used to take my rec boat out in March in Long Island Sound. I had a spray cover. Wave imploded that and filled the cockpit and the boat which promptly became unstable and I went out.. I was in waves and managed barely to get to shore. It was only about thirty feet.
Next day I went to buy a real sea kayak with double bulkheads. The rec boat was still used...on ponds and as a visitor boat.