My son is 24 and bullet proof, and he goes fishing in huge seas, up to 3 metre surf [about 10 ft... a metre is a meter spelled in non-U.S. English, or about 1.1 yard]. He has repeated this several times.
His biggest issue is that if he took a rogue wave over top when several hundred metres off shore, his W500 could take water in, if he doesn’t use a cockpit cover.
So I decided to experiment with flotation. The photo shows what we came up with.
I have 6 inch floats. Each has a 2kg [about 4.5 lbs] of buoyancy. I have these in a light alloy tube, so they don’t sag.
We use these in a set of 2. They are detachable so can be replaced with the standard flotation modules for calm sea.
I made up 2 sets – one with six buoys on each tube and one with 12 giving 24ks and 48kgs of buoyancy respectively [roughly 52 lbs and 105 lbs].
We have tried the set with 6 buoys each and the W500 floats about 3 inches higher when full of water.
We have yet to try the 12 buoy set.
Dennis,
Wavewalk New Zealand
Thanks Dennis,
3 metre surf is far too much for anything but board surfing, IMHO
If water from huge waves breaking on top of the W kayak is an issue, a big and tight cockpit cover can be a good start. It takes only seconds to secure it to the cockpit rim, and it doesn’t affect paddling or maneuvering at all. You can cover the cockpit’s front with one cover, and the part behind you with a second cover, and thus make the cockpit almost completely waterproof, even in case a wave happens to break right on top of it.
I like the way the buoys you’re using fit in the spaces between the saddle’s gussets (reinforcement ribs)
Yoav
The bigger the waves the more likely an accident, and the more severe it’s likely to be.
10 ft is about twice as much as I’d deem safe, and that’s without taking into account additional factors such as rocks, currents, etc.
Life is beautiful, but stuff happens, especially if you create the situation for it to happen…
Pete
I like playing with my w kayak in the surf, but I don’t like the feeling of being helpless, and that’s what such big waves make me feel.
Dennis,
Sometimes urgency can lead to interesting innovations, in this case it’s your new flotation setup. Keep safe,
FW
Very interesting floatation.
Now as for the 10′ seas, that’s awesome.
Please make a video of a trip if you can, that would be a sight to see.
Tight lines and MoPaddle safe all.
Rox
Seems to me that a big wave could still tip the W so you’d be upside down with your floats near the water’s surface. And if you were inside of a tight fitting cockpit cover, you’d have to escape the W under water. Even if you survive the ordeal, it would be good bye to your fishing gear. I suggest finding a lake and doing some freshwater fishing on windy days.
Big waves can tip anything called a boat, especially tiny boats called “kayaks”, and 10 ft waves are just too much of a risk for sure, especially as you get closer to shore.
Loosing your fishing gear is an annoying experience, sometimes even traumatic… but losing your paddle can be a disaster, so it’s always a good idea to tether all items that you care to keep
Frankly, I doubt it’s possible to fit the W kayak cockpit cover so tightly that it would hamper the passenger’s exit. After all, we’re not talking about a traditional, watertight kayak spray skirt that’s made to go underwater periodically.
Side flotation can prevent a canoe or kayak from flipping, and that’s why I like it better than other flotation, but I like Dennis’ new flotation too, because it doesn’t seem to be in the way for any matter or purpose.
Graham
That’s a slick idea. I’ve been thinking of ways to get a bit more flotation from underneath and it’s less labor intensive than anything I’ve come up with yet. At present I use the jumbo pool noodles along the bottom but this seems a bit more compact and have a higher capacity. I’ve spent a lot of time in the pool with the boat submerged and testing flotation. Side flotation may help from tipping but once full of water the bottom flotation is superior IMO and may allow you to pump the hulls out easier if you carry a hand pump. As for 10′ waves, ahh, its good to be young and invincible, I remember those days fondly. Guess I’d be more worried of the Great Whites you have looking for snacks off shore.
Kevin, if you like Dennis’ idea, you can take a step further by cutting a 4″ thick Styrofoam board into blocks that fit exactly in the spaces between the saddle’s gussets. Doing so would maximize the potential for positive buoyancy in this part of the boat, without adding drag, as it would still leave a 10″ clearance below the saddle.
4 ft waves are the limit I’ve set for myself, and that’s on a warm, sunny day. Sometimes, if the wind picks up, I can find myself dealing with 5 footers, but I don’t like being in that kind of situation, and for those who don’t appreciate the difference between 4 and 5 foot waves, think about earthquakes, and what the numbers mean in terms of magnitude…
As for the condition known as “Youth”, I think I’ve been cured – a long time ago
Yoav, I’ve toyed with doing that but then you have to get into using some sort of adhesive. G-flex epoxy would work but I didn’t want to make a mess of things if it didn’t work out.