Front Hatch tip for PA owners

Last time I was out offshore it was a little rough, on the way back to the beach it got worse with winds blowing 15-20. about 200 yards from shore, I got hit by a wave from the port side, and sure enough I flipped. Part of if was my fault for having the seat set on the high position, lost my balance and went down quickly. I had my 9+ pounds casting net and some other stuff inside the front storage, so as the kayak was facing down, the weight of the casting net pushed the front hatch lid open enough to let the water in, so as I was turning the kayak over, the front hatch opened, and I lost the white liner, casting net and some other stuff. My PA got full of water and I couldn't get back in, luckily I was out with some of my fishing buddies that day and they were able to towed me back to shore. Moral of the story, never go out alone and if you like to store heavy stuff on the front compartment, make sure to lock the front hatch with extra latches , here is what I added as an extra and simple locking latch. http://southfloridakayakfishing.com/showthread.php?tid=3

yea, when i had the PA12, i was practicing self rescue... flipping that thing felt like flipping a tombstone on the water...

glad to hear you're safe...
like the mod to your lid...

When you get back to the beach and you see that it is rough you can do one of two things. First watch the waves and time it on the smaller waves and try to catch one and pedal like a madman and just before the water gets too shallow for the drive leash it back with the bungee and use the rudder to guide yourself to the beach. Jump out when you get to the beach and pull the boat up. Or number two is to get just out side of where the surf is getting snotty and turn boat around and face waves and let them push you back to the beach. When you get in water that you can stand in jump out and grab boat by the bow and walk it back to beach. This way works best when it's real sporty. Been doing it both ways for about 4 years and one time with the surfing method broke a drive cable. Never retract your rudder until your on the beach if you try to surf in its far easier to control the boat with the rudder than a paddle.

Thanks for the tip, I always jump out before the surf and pull the boat out to shore. Do you also fish from a PA? I seen you posting at the FS forums. BTW, I may be going out from Pompano this weekend.

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Nice! that would definitely hold it together. Good Job!

I have had PA for four years an Outback for about two years and just got a 2015 AI. Still have all 3 and probably fish the PA at least 20 days a year since I bought the Outback. I take a lot of people fishing with me so I use the PA on those days. Weather and work have limited my use of the AI. Finally got it out in the ocean last Sunday and with just a little wind you can really go. When I got back to the beach I didn't like seeing surfers trying to catch waves but I did okay. It just takes about 30 minutes to get it apart and loaded in the truck. Now I don't have to do the cab ride thing if there's any wind. Hoping to be able to troll up some mahi and wahoo.