"Paddle out of Peril" video with Omer Stringer

[Pseudonym]

When I'm swimming and need to get back into a floating canoe, I've always come up over the bow or stern, just off to one side or the other. I pull down, kick up and flop myself up onto the deck, or thereabouts. The gunwales never get very close to the water. It's easier when there's a load in the canoe but can be done even without; it's just that without a load the balance is a little more delicate as you shimmy into the canoe after the flop. I confess that most of my experience comes from pleasure swimming on a hot summer day. The whole operation is a lot harder wearing a PFD because the vest is bulky and tends to get in the way during the "flop," making it harder to execute. I've also never had to do so in a chop or waves.

I'm impressed by your moves @Alan Gage.

This also leads to the question of whether to tie gear in the canoe or not.

I always lashed everything in snugly, though I watched Path of the Paddle recently and noticed that Bill Mason recommended securing bags with a tether only. The link below should queue up the right moment, but if not skip to 4:07 or thereabouts.

 

[Gamma1214]

I liked the video but, I gotta admit, I was a bit anxious watching the w/c floating free in the rapid around the 25 minute mark. I doubt I'm challenging that rapid in a stripper (which I consider far more disposable). Of course, I'm always solo so that changes the thought process as well...

Nice illustration of reading rapids & how to identify obstructions.

 

[lowangle al]

When I'm swimming and need to get back into a floating canoe, I've always come up over the bow or stern, just off to one side or the other. I pull down, kick up and flop myself up onto the deck, or thereabouts. The gunwales never get very close to the water. It's easier when there's a load in the canoe but can be done even without; it's just that without a load the balance is a little more delicate as you shimmy into the canoe after the flop. I confess that most of my experience comes from pleasure swimming on a hot summer day. The whole operation is a lot harder wearing a PFD because the vest is bulky and tends to get in the way during the "flop," making it harder to execute. I've also never had to do so in a chop or waves.

I'm impressed by your moves @Alan Gage.



I always lashed everything in snugly, though I watched Path of the Paddle recently and noticed that Bill Mason recommended securing bags with a tether only. The link below should queue up the right moment, but if not skip to 4:07 or thereabouts.

I agree that it works better to enter the boat close to the stems and that it is harder with a PFD on.

The one time that I flipped a loaded boat in rapids I had my packs on a tether like Bill recommends. It worked great allowing me to remove any packs still in the boat and not having them float away while I emptied the water from the boat. I could have reloaded and been on my way with very little time lost except I had to wait for my gunnel grabbing bowman who's gunnel grabbing had caused a thumb injury.

 

[Steve in Idaho]

I'll be the contrarian on tethering gear in whitewater - at least where rivers are concerned. My view is that it is a recipe for snagging and possibly destroying a canoe.....or a paddler. I keep my gear secured as low as possible in whitewater. Most everything being in watertight containers, I consider it displacement at least and flotation at best. Not doing any boat over boat rescues on the rivers I see. Flotation bags take up the space that gear doesn't. If it's serious whitewater, there may even be an electric bilge pump. ( Oh the horrors!)

 

[Nick Pending]

I'll be the contrarian on tethering gear in whitewater - at least where rivers are concerned. My view is that it is a recipe for snagging and possibly destroying a canoe.....or a paddler. I keep my gear secured as low as possible in whitewater. Most everything being in watertight containers, I consider it displacement at least and flotation at best. Not doing any boat over boat rescues on the rivers I see. Flotation bags take up the space that gear doesn't. If it's serious whitewater, there may even be an electric bilge pump. ( Oh the horrors!)

I'd agree with Steve here. In whitewater, I tie gear into the boat. In flatwater, however, I just tie things to the boat. Tethered, things can be thrown out of the capsized craft (bottom up? Good thing they're tethered, huh!) without loss, and there's lots of room for bailing, or if the tethers are long enough (not specifically recommended), even enough for a canoe-over-canoe rescue if there's a companion boat along and weather is calm enough. Get the boat emptied, paddlers back inside, and pull the gear back in and back on your way.

I'd skip the electric bilge pump too. Might as well paddle a kayak? < g >

 

[lowangle al]

The thing I don't like about tying my stuff down in WW is that when flipped or swamped it will most likely float lower in the water which would increase the chances the it could get wrapped. It would also make recovery harder.

Mason said to tie your stuff down tightly to the bottom of the boat on flat water so it will act like floatation if it gets swamped.

 

[Steve in Idaho]

The thing I don't like about tying my stuff down in WW is that when flipped or swamped it will most likely float lower in the water which would increase the chances the it could get wrapped. It would also make recovery harder.

Mason said to tie your stuff down tightly to the bottom of the boat on flat water so it will act like floatation if it gets swamped.

This might lead to a discussion about specific gravity.

I suppose if one is carrying cast iron cookware, tying it down could be suboptimal.

 

[eckilson]

I love to paddle whitewater, but haven’t done much tripping in whitewater other than real easy stuff.

When I paddle solo I am in a dedicated solo boat, so I am in the middle with one bag in the bow and one bag in the stern. They fit snug, so usually I don’t tie them in. If I was in extended rapids, I think I would tie them in over a tether. Having a swamped boat bouncing downstream dragging two drybags behind it doesn’t sound like a good idea. With the bags tied in, the boat would float lower, but at least it would be balanced from end to end. The bags are heavy, but there is some air in them for flotation. If it pins it would be a mess – now the boat and the gear is wrapped around the rock. Bad situation either way, so I guess you are choosing the best of two evils.

Paddling tandem we usually tie stuff in. If we swamped in rapids I think we would still have a yard-sale floating down the river.

So I guess the moral of the story is don’t swim with gear in rapids.

 

[Steve in Idaho]

I love to paddle whitewater, but haven’t done much tripping in whitewater other than real easy stuff.

When I paddle solo I am in a dedicated solo boat, so I am in the middle with one bag in the bow and one bag in the stern. They fit snug, so usually I don’t tie them in. If I was in extended rapids, I think I would tie them in over a tether. Having a swamped boat bouncing downstream dragging two drybags behind it doesn’t sound like a good idea. With the bags tied in, the boat would float lower......

Would it though? I think it depends on how much room is left for water. In my 14' solo, between float bags and gear - which is mostly in drybags or solid containers - there isn't much room left for the river to fill when loaded for a seven day trip. I have assumed that letting that gear float out when swamped and replacing it with water would make it ride lower and hit things harder - but I haven't tested that.

I do know one thing. I would rather not have my gear floating around in my boat along with the water I just scooped up. The less I have sloshing around while negotiating a rapid the better.

 

[eckilson]

We agree that we wouldn't tether. Interested to hear what others say about that.

Now that I think about it, it probably doesn't matter if the boat is filled with gear and water, or just water. Float bags would definitely help, but they take up space you might need for gear. It is pretty unusual that I can get myself and my solo whitewater boat to shore in an extended rapid, and that boat is 12' with 60" bow and stern bags. Knock wood, with all that floatation, it has always made it to the bottom without me. Not sure my 14' solo would make it - with or without gear strapped in.

Maybe the discussion isn't about how you deal with gear, but what you run and what you portage.

 

[Gamma1214]

I trip solo, therefore, little room for float bags and I always have gear along. Because I am solo, I do not make challenging whitewater runs and always try to err on the side of cowardice when faced with rapids so there's no need to worry about yard sales or tying things in.

That said, I do pack nearly everything in roll-top dry bags and it is impossible to get ALL of the air out. In addition, as most (maybe all) of the gear is lighter than 62.4 lbs / cubic foot (28.32 liters), I would expect the gear bag to provide far more floatation than water.

 

[Pseudonym]

When tripping in whitewater, I'd rather lash than tether, because lashing keeps the heavy gear within the limits of the canoe and minimizes the chance of entrapment. Even with heavy gear and no float bags, the assembly is remarkably buoyant. If the gear is lashed in, you can even sometimes manage to paddle a totally swamped canoe to the edge of the river if you can keep it upright. The gear actually contributes buoyancy. You can even paddle an inverted canoe! See these intrepid Canadians:

The idea of tethering in whitewater scares me. Imagine a bunch of bags, floating beyond the limits of the capsized canoe but still tied with loose lashings, and moving swiftly downriver. The canoe gets pinned but your leg is wrapped up in the lashing, which is now stretched taught between the pinned canoe and a bag that's still being pushed downriver by the current. That seems like a good way to get severely injured or drowned.

I do see the benefit of tethering on a Lake, because there is less risk of entrapment in water without current, and tethering potentially allows for quicker recovery than lashing because you don't necessarily have to untie everything before performing the rescue. Even on a lake, I always tie everything in one way or another, or use a spray deck, because I once lost all my personal gear on Chesuncook, after swamping and my buoyant bag was blown away from me faster than you'd believe:

I've been burned on Chesuncook. Twenty-one years ago, I was a young man who didn't know any better and we were a big group, setting out across the lake from the Village, having just snacked on some of their legendary fudge. We were "supposed to" camp on Gero island but never should have left shore given how the wind was coming up. About halfway across, canoes started swamping and we did our best to tee rescue one another until we were all too swamped to help anymore. Thankfully, someone from the village had their eyes on us and came out in a power boat to save us, one boat after the next. The calamity divided our group on each side of the lake, with half of us camped on Gero Island for the night and the rest back at the village with tents pitched on someone's front lawn. I lost my own bag of personal clothing and did the rest of the trip (through Chamberlain, Telos and Webster Brook to Mattagamon) with little more than the shirt on my back and a few precious borrowed items. Learned more than a few lessons that day!

 

[Steve in Idaho]

Maybe the discussion isn't about how you deal with gear, but what you run and what you portage.

Probably more relevant in my case. When solo or on an extended trip, I'm a big chicken. The odds of a total swamp are very low (not that it hasn't happened). I have, however, taken on a lot of water over the side - enough to float gear if it's not tied down - a number of times. An overnight stretch of river near here has a couple of 3/4 mile long rapids that tend to partially fill even a loaded Prospector in high flows. I choose not sloshing over sloshing.

I think though it's important to evaluate each situation and be ready to approach it differently if it seems reasonable - and then live with that. I can certainly imagine a situation where I would not tie stuff down.

 

[lowangle al]

You guys that tie your stuff down in rapids might also want to add a tether. All it takes is about 6 feet of para cord and thirty seconds to tie to a thwart and run through a strap or loop of your packs and then tie to the last pack. This way if you do swamp or flip you can unload the boat to empty the water without worrying about your gear floating away. Otherwise you either need help or have to get to shore.

 

[Nick Pending]

Otherwise you either need help or have to get to shore.

Rather than untie my bags and throw them out in the middle of rapids for easier bailing, then haul bags back in and retying them all, I find it much, much quicker and easier (and safer) to just paddle to shore and dump my boat out, then climb back in and push off. I even do it in the smoothwater or pools at the bottom of rapids because it's still much quicker and easier there, too. I can see the value of tether in addition to tie in for redundancy, but don't think I'd bother to do it. That's me, though. Other paddlers do things differently, what works for them. Almost all whitewater trippers I've ever seen (a very small percentage, obviously) do it pretty much the way I do. It doesn't mean there aren't some who work it like you suggest. I've just never met any.

 

[Steve in Idaho]

Rather than untie my bags and throw them out in the middle of rapids for easier bailing, then haul bags back in and retying them all, I find it much, much quicker and easier (and safer) to just paddle to shore and dump my boat out, then climb back in and push off. I even do it in the smoothwater or pools at the bottom of rapids because it's still much quicker and easier there, too. I can see the value of tether in addition to tie in for redundancy, but don't think I'd bother to do it. That's me, though. Other paddlers do things differently, what works for them. Almost all whitewater trippers I've ever seen (a very small percentage, obviously) do it pretty much the way I do. It doesn't mean there aren't some who work it like you suggest. I've just never met any.

That's the only way I've seen it done or done myself. Mody likely I'd think differently on a big crossing.

 

[lowangle al]

Rather than untie my bags and throw them out in the middle of rapids for easier bailing, then haul bags back in and retying them all, I find it much, much quicker and easier (and safer) to just paddle to shore and dump my boat out, then climb back in and push off. I even do it in the smoothwater or pools at the bottom of rapids because it's still much quicker and easier there, too. I can see the value of tether in addition to tie in for redundancy, but don't think I'd bother to do it. That's me, though. Other paddlers do things differently, what works for them. Almost all whitewater trippers I've ever seen (a very small percentage, obviously) do it pretty much the way I do. It doesn't mean there aren't some who work it like you suggest. I've just never met any.

I don't have any experience paddling a loaded swamped boat in a rapid, but it doesn't sound easy, especially if you have to reenter the boat. With the tether I didn't have to untie or retie anything, just throw the packs out and dump the water (no bailing) and throw the packs back in. I don't know how it could be quicker paddling to shore first. I also don't see how dumping water out of a boat with about a 150 lbs (my typical tandem load)of gear tied in is easy, especially when the shoreline may be lined with brush or rocks making it harder than a beach landing.

Steve, on a big crossing Mason recommends tying the packs down for floatation if you take on water with no mention of the tether.

 

[Steve in Idaho]

I don't have any experience paddling a loaded swamped boat in a rapid, but it doesn't sound easy, especially if you have to reenter the boat. With the tether I didn't have to untie or retie anything, just throw the packs out and dump the water (no bailing) and throw the packs back in. I don't know how it could be quicker paddling to shore first. I also don't see how dumping water out of a boat with about a 150 lbs (my typical tandem load)of gear tied in is easy, especially when the shoreline may be lined with brush or rocks making it harder than a beach landing.

Steve, on a big crossing Mason recommends tying the packs down for floatation if you take on water with no mention of the tether.

Was that after he filmed Waterwalker?

Dumping water from a loaded canoe....
First, you have to remember that there isn't a lot of room for water between the gear load and the float bags. Lacking float bags, emptying the boat is the least of my worries...and I act accordingly. What I have done is after paddling or swimming the boat to the river bank, I unhook my bailer (a gallon jug with the bottom cut off), kneel on the gunnel on the shore side with the canoe still floating, and start scooping. All the water settles toward the chine below me, so it's easy to scoop out. And as the gallons go by, the opposite side of the boat raises some, which aids the process.

As for paddling a swamped canoe in a rapid....yeah, it's definitely not easy but it sometimes can be done. A lot depends on just how much open space the canoe has available to ship water. But my experience is that if I can't paddle it, I won't be bailing it or re-entering it there either. The middle of a rapid is no place to be bailing unless all that means is to flip the switch (which is a game changer, BTW).

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

I've never re-entered a canoe in a rapid and have never seen anyone do it. If you dump in a rapid, you are out of the canoe and the canoe is almost always upside down. The priorities are getting yourself and boat to shore, which often requires the help of other rescue boaters.

If the gear isn't tied into the canoe in a rapids dump, it will float away separate from the boat, and attempting to rescue all the separated gear parcels, especially with more rapids ahead, will result in increased and unnecessary danger to the rescue boaters and a good probability of failure.

Having gear floating free on tethers in a rapids dump is a recipe for boat or body entanglements and pinning disaster.

I once pinned my Mad River Explorer here, on the lip of class 5 Coal Mine Falls on the Eel River in California.


My entire gear bag fell out because I had forgotten to clip it in. No one was going to risk their life to try to rescue it because Coal Mine Falls was a mandatory portage. Almost miraculously, we found the bag floating in an eddy about a half mile from the take-out. The pain of that lesson was about $700 of camera equipment destroyed by water.