Spray decks for OC1

[andy walker]

Anybody tried using one and did it work ?

I've got a Savage Skeeter which tends to fill up on grade 4 and I wondered if a spray deck might help ?

Any thoughts/experiences/recommendations gratefully received.

Andy.

[the great gonzo]

I would not use a spray deck on a skeeter in heavy whitewater, as exiting the boat with a spray deck may be an issue. You might also get entangled in it. A spray skirt style deck that fits ti=ghtly around your body is also, due to the huge size the skirt would have, very dangerous and would be a great hinderance and risk of getting snagged during a swim.

What you could do however is to install large plastic deck plates on your cockpit that cover the area all the way back to the thwarts and on top of that install a v-shaped foam dam on the bow deck plate. This will ghreatly reduce the amount of water entering your boat and is commonly done. If you are paddling an open boat you will always get some water in. Part of the game and the challenge is to find the dry lines in the hard stuff ... If you want a really dry boat, look into getting a C1...

martin a.k.a. the great gonzo!

[Craig Smerda]

Foam out your cockpit, add a pump, add a water deflector... search this website for 100's of ideas but before you do...

Technique is the key and before you do something drastic try changing that first. Find the drier line, change the angles you hit waves and holes, and believe it or not slow down... often going too fast gets you wetter than simply riding on through stuff. (one example... when riding through wave trains try to go "about" the same speed as the water. That will often times keep the boat in the highs and lows of the troughs and not penciling in or punching through the wave faces.)

Would you want to swim with a 5 foot long water parachute? Not me.
If you need to be bone dry.. then you need a c1.

[andy walker]

Thanks for the input guys. I'll certainly search the site - having only just come across it, searching for stuff on skeeters, as I've just got the boat..

I was wondering if anyone had rigging something up top deflect water at the front - possibly by carving an old deck up or something - as you say - swimming in a 5 foot parachute would be a bad idea.

Clearly spray deck was not the right initial subject title - but live and learn - first attempt and all that. again...

Also, I'm beginning to think we're talking a different scale of river here.

All this talk of finding the line that misses the holes etc. Much of the grade 4 in England, the rivers so narrow there is only one line, particularly in lower water levels - hence the problem. Am I saying "river" when the North American parlance is "creek" ?

[Martyn]

Andy,

Craig is right on the mark when he says to get as much foam into the boat as possible. I have creeked in my skeeter, its not a dry boat, but with the amount of foam in it, it is still manoueverable when full of water and actually rolls up drier.

Martyn

[the great gonzo]

Andy,

I agree with Martyn and Craig, foaming the cockpit out is a good idea.
As far a using dry lines, you can do that, to some extent, even when creeking, i.e. by for instance sometimes you can boof into eddies to avoid holes, or run a shallow wet slide to avoid running the meat and the hole altogether. And if you paddle an open boat, you will have to pull into eddies frequently to either dump the water or to wait until your electric bilge pump did the job. That's just a part of being an open boater. If you don't like that, you may want to consider switching to C1.
For some good hints about running harder stuff in open boats, check this article:
http://www.open-canoe.de/open/technique ... butt_v.html
Many good hints in there.
Try also to get a copy of 'Thrill of the Paddle' by Paul Mason and Marc Scriver, it's the best instructional book for open boating I know of and does cover creeking techniques for open canoes fairly extensively:
http://www.fireflybooks.com/books/4510A.html
I don't know how easy it is to get in the UK, but it's well worth getting.


martin a.k.a. the great gonzo!

[andy walker]

Cheers - useful article - shame I can't manage the last recommendation of paddling 3 or 4 times a week.

I've got Thrill of the Paddle - I think I need to re-read it - going from an Outrage to a Skeeter changes the rules a bit.

I'm not personally that concerned about filling up with water - so not rushing to a C1 - problem is open boating on grade 4 is a bit of a minority pursuit in the UK and you end up paddling with those "from the dark side" who don't have to empty out and end up waiting for you... except when they swim of course.

Maybe that's another answer - find more open boaters prepared to run this sort of stuff...

[Larry Horne]

now you're on to something! there isn't much that's more fun than a group of 4 open boaters (and no kayakers) on class four water!

[Jim Michaud]

Andy,

I also do a lot of creeking in an Outrage and like you I'm always paddling with just kayakers and one or two C-1ers. I've recently installed a second bilge pump in my Outrage and love it. It use to take too long for one pump to empty the boat but with two pumps it empties out much faster. If the rapids aren't too severe at the moment I usually let the pumps do their thing until the boat is empty while I paddle along. Now the kayakers don't have to wait while I pull over to dump water. This past week I paddled a creek that had a lot of ice along the shorelines so getting out to dump would have been a huge problem.

I use to have problems with my switch getting wet. I now waterproof the switch by covering the entire switch with a hot glue gun.

Jim

[andy walker]

Jim,

What's the name of the pump manufacturers - so I can see if anyone stock them in the UK, as no-one I've spoken to in the UK has ever mentioned using one - probably aren't enough poeple here who'd want one, maybe.

Thanks,

Andrew.

[the great gonzo]

Andy,

I use the following setup in my Prelude:

- Attwood V1250 (1250 GPH) bilge pump, ~CAN$45 at Canadian Tire. You should be able to get a similar pump at any marine supplies store.
- Toggle switch with dust boot ~Can$5
- Yuasa 12V 4 Ah lead acid gel battery, I heard that home alarm systems use similar batteries. If you want to safe weight, you can use a NiCad or Lithium Barrery setup, but they are much more $, and you need a special charger for them, too.
- Waterproof case for the battery ~CAN$25
- Hose that fits the pump
- Water proof 2 wire trailer hitch connectors

Install the pump in the boat, however you see fit. I use double sided carpet tape, most people who purt them into RX hulls seem to use d-rins and strap the pump as well as the battery box down.
Install the switch into the water proof box (drill a hole for the switch as well as for the wiring). I use Automotive Goop as a sealant, works like a charm.
Install a connector into the wiring between the pump and the battery/switch box, this way you can also, if you buy a plug that fits into your cars cigarette lighter and fit the other end with a matching connector, connect the battery to your car and charge it on your way to the river.
Attach the hose to the pump route the other end over the board of the boat wherever you see fit. And you are done!

martin a.k.a. the great gonzo!

[bathtuboy]

There certainly don't seem to be many of us here in the UK paddling OC's on Grade 4, but there are a few around. I'm looking forward to the Liquid Life boater X they are running up on the Tummel in May which is including an OC category for the first time. I have been assured that they will have a good few entrants, and though I have never run the Tummel, it is reported as being grade 4, with a possible grade 5 as the last drop.
Regarding pumps etc in boats, I do not bother with one in either of my boats, a superfly and a prelude, and in time have got a lot better at running dry lines. Emptying out can be pretty quick, and there is no need to slow down the kayakers you are paddling with. Paddled the Upper Dart just before Christmas in 50 minutes without feeling I was rushing at any point.

[andy walker]

Thanks for the advice folks - in the end I've put deck plates on, added 4 inch thick foam across the front deck plus a small foam deflector - also 4 inches nearly back at the cockpit.

It's made a huge difference - can now run 4 to 5 foot drops without taking on hardly an water at all

Andy