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PostPosted: Tue Jan 02, 2018 10:47 am 
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Joined: Tue Jan 02, 2018 9:31 am
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I am new to salt water Kayak fishing.....still debating boats. It will prob be a new Revo 13 or Outback.

I had a near death experience boating and have a healthy respect for the ocean. With that in mind, I have a good list (mainly from reading these forums) of must have safety gear.

Gear aside, what do you consider sufficient self rescue practice? I plan to start in a pool....testing for leaks, falling off and getting on. Obviously, this won't duplicate the ocean.....I think I need to practice in a cold rough ocean wearing gear with a partner. Do you guys/girls actually do self rescue tests in the ocean/surf with waves? What do you do? What do you wear?

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Fred
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 03, 2018 11:09 am 
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Joined: Wed May 11, 2016 8:20 am
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I'd recommend wearing a PFD at all times, carrying a bilge pump on board, a VHF radio, a rescue ladder in the event of a capsize and lastly and EPIRB device. The rule of thumb when kayak fishing is to dress for submersion. Clothes that can get wet without absorbing a ton of water weight or filling up with water. Also, don't forget to file a float plan with somebody (family member or friend) each time you go out.

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PostPosted: Wed Jan 03, 2018 11:57 am 
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Wear a tether. If you come off the boat in high winds, it can blow away faster than you can swim. Keep a fixed blade knife on your PFD that you can easily access if you need to cut the tether.

Keep a waterproof VHF in your PFD pocket and know how to use it.

Buy a PLB, attach it to your PFD.

Put a strobe light on your PFD.

Carry day/night flares, the kind that make lots of red smoke during the day and bright red light at night.

Most importantly: file a written float plan with someone who cares about you, your shore contact. A good float plan will have the following information:

    When/where you plan to start.
    When/where you plan to end.
    Planned route.
    Description of you and your boat.
    Your cell phone number.
    If you are carrying a VHF or not.
    If have a PLB or not.
    Contact info for the authorities: USCG, Sheriff, Dept of Natural Resources rangers, Water police, etc.
    Communication plan with shore contact: let them know when they can expect to hear from you and if they don't hear from you by some cut-off time that you agree to they will contact the authorities. At that time they can relay the float plan info to the authorities and explain you are overdue.


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PostPosted: Thu Jan 04, 2018 12:00 pm 
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Joined: Tue Jan 02, 2018 9:31 am
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Many thanks for the replies. I added PLB to my "must have" list.

Can anyone elaborate on specific self-rescue tests they perform with their kayak in the water?

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Fred
www.fred-everett.com


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PostPosted: Thu Jan 04, 2018 1:27 pm 
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Looking at the sea-kayaking resources would be helpful. You aren't going to eskimo roll a sit-on-top, but a lot of what they use will still be applicable. One item no one mentioned is a paddle float. If the boat gets swamped, you are going to find that it's very unstable with all that water sloshing around. A paddle float is used in this case to stabilize the boat while you set to bailing.

I would practice righting and reboarding while wearing your normal gear. You may find out that you need additional handholds to get the boat back upright or that your PFD has a lot of stuff in the way of climbing back on board.

Half fill the boat with water. Practice removing that water.

Practice all this in open water with waves. Have a friend standing by to help.


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PostPosted: Thu Jan 04, 2018 6:11 pm 
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Practice close in to shore in roughish conditions as you gain experience so that the one time when bad weather catches you out it wont be the first.

re PLB/EPIRB make at least one is attached to you (EPIRBS can be bulky and usually attached to vessel) as being separated is a big risk


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