Native Ultimate 14.5 Deep Water Reentry - A Successful Test
Posted: Fri Jun 15, 2012 1:51 pm
After tarpon fishing this morning Shamus, Uncle Tommy and I stood on the beach discussing the shark Tommy fought. During the conversation we talked about being out in open water in a Native Ultimate and what would happen if you swamped it. I got thinking about this on the drive home and decided to do a little testing in my pool. To make the test as realistic as possible I tried to do everything in the deep end of the pool and kept my feet off the bottom of the pool. I put on my PFD for this test. To be truthful, I started the test without the PFD and quickly learned how much easier it was maneuver and hold myself in position with the PFD. In the spirit of full disclosure, I am 65 years old and weigh just under 200 pounds.
I put the Ultimate 14.5 in the pool with seat and seat riser, but no fishing equipment. The kayak also has a front spray skirt on it which will be a critical element to my success later on. I then leaned on the side and swamped it. Once it was filled with water it floated with maybe 1 inch of freeboard on each side. Filled like this the kayak was incredibly unstable. The slightest pressure on either side would make the kayak list over into the water. I tried getting in the kayak once with it fully swamped, but it was pointless since it was so unstable.
My first order of business was to see how I could get the water out. First thing I did was try to use my pump. I found this very cumbersome and not very effective. If I reached over the side to pump it just listed over and took on as much water as I was pumping out. I could reach in over the stern with the pump, but the slightest pressure on the boat would cause it to list over again. Next I tried something I had heard people do with swamped canoes. I went to the stern of the kayak and pushed it down into the water as far as I could which raised the bow out of the water slightly. I then pushed the kayak forwards in a quick thrusting motion. To my pleasant surprise this took about 20% to 30% of the water out of the kayak. It was now floating with a few inches of freeboard on each side. I tried this a few more times, but really gained nothing more in these subsequent tries.
I again tried to see if I could get into the kayak, but it was still too unstable. I had to find a way to get more water out. I went back to the pump. Again I found that the best spot to pump from was over the stern, but it was very difficult and very slow. I decided to try bailing. I got a plastic 2lb Folgers coffee container. I tried bailing from the side, but again the instability of the boat 2/3 full of water became an issue. Bailing at the stern seemed to work best. As the bailing progressed I could put pressure on the stern, which would sink it a little and make the water flow back there. This way I could get a full bucket full each time bailed. In just a little more than 10 minutes I had almost all of the water out of the kayak.
Now the task was to see if I could figure out how to get back in. First, I tried to just climb over the side. I could not find any way to do this without swamping the kayak all over again. Next I tried to use my kayak cart strap to make a stirrup. I attached the strap to one side of the kayak and then tried to get into the other side by putting my foot in the strap loop. Again, I could not figure out how to make this work. Then I had an idea. I would try to get in over the bow where the spray skirt was. I pushed the bow down and the skirt prevented the water from flooding the kayak. I then reached up and grabbed the back edge of the skirt and pulled myself part of the way up out of the water. I next grabbed the cross bar just behind the skirt and slithered into the kayak. There I was, back in the kayak with only a minor amount of water in the boat.
Conclusion: A deep water reentry can be done. However, I don’t think I could have done it if I didn’t have the front spray skirt. Also, I did it in the dead calm of a pool. If I were in water with any waves or chop I think I would be SOL.
I put the Ultimate 14.5 in the pool with seat and seat riser, but no fishing equipment. The kayak also has a front spray skirt on it which will be a critical element to my success later on. I then leaned on the side and swamped it. Once it was filled with water it floated with maybe 1 inch of freeboard on each side. Filled like this the kayak was incredibly unstable. The slightest pressure on either side would make the kayak list over into the water. I tried getting in the kayak once with it fully swamped, but it was pointless since it was so unstable.
My first order of business was to see how I could get the water out. First thing I did was try to use my pump. I found this very cumbersome and not very effective. If I reached over the side to pump it just listed over and took on as much water as I was pumping out. I could reach in over the stern with the pump, but the slightest pressure on the boat would cause it to list over again. Next I tried something I had heard people do with swamped canoes. I went to the stern of the kayak and pushed it down into the water as far as I could which raised the bow out of the water slightly. I then pushed the kayak forwards in a quick thrusting motion. To my pleasant surprise this took about 20% to 30% of the water out of the kayak. It was now floating with a few inches of freeboard on each side. I tried this a few more times, but really gained nothing more in these subsequent tries.
I again tried to see if I could get into the kayak, but it was still too unstable. I had to find a way to get more water out. I went back to the pump. Again I found that the best spot to pump from was over the stern, but it was very difficult and very slow. I decided to try bailing. I got a plastic 2lb Folgers coffee container. I tried bailing from the side, but again the instability of the boat 2/3 full of water became an issue. Bailing at the stern seemed to work best. As the bailing progressed I could put pressure on the stern, which would sink it a little and make the water flow back there. This way I could get a full bucket full each time bailed. In just a little more than 10 minutes I had almost all of the water out of the kayak.
Now the task was to see if I could figure out how to get back in. First, I tried to just climb over the side. I could not find any way to do this without swamping the kayak all over again. Next I tried to use my kayak cart strap to make a stirrup. I attached the strap to one side of the kayak and then tried to get into the other side by putting my foot in the strap loop. Again, I could not figure out how to make this work. Then I had an idea. I would try to get in over the bow where the spray skirt was. I pushed the bow down and the skirt prevented the water from flooding the kayak. I then reached up and grabbed the back edge of the skirt and pulled myself part of the way up out of the water. I next grabbed the cross bar just behind the skirt and slithered into the kayak. There I was, back in the kayak with only a minor amount of water in the boat.
Conclusion: A deep water reentry can be done. However, I don’t think I could have done it if I didn’t have the front spray skirt. Also, I did it in the dead calm of a pool. If I were in water with any waves or chop I think I would be SOL.
