A Better Boat to Boat Rescue?

Thanks for the help!

A traditional bow rescue calls for the paddler who is upside down to have their hands out of the water on either side of the kayak while also rubbing back and forth along the boat. This rubbing is advised for two reasons: first, so the rescuer who is paddling aggressively toward them will be less likely to hit his/her hand and second, as a means to search for the bow of the rescuers kayak that might have come in behind or in front of their hand.

While professional kayak instructors have the experience to approach upside down kayakers slowly and the precision boat control to ensure that their bow makes contact with the kayak at the right angle, many kayakers who have taken it upon themselves to teach their friends and loved ones do not.

Ouch!

I have seen it many times. . . someone in the group is upside down on the lake, hands rubbing patiently on the kayak while an intrepid rescuer accelerates toward him only to create an inadvertently painful kayak hand sandwich or to have the bow of their kayak veer off in the wrong direction at the last second, leaving the kayaker to pull his skirt and swim.

The traditional bow rescue does have the advantage of keeping the rescuer at boats length from the upside down paddler but it comes with some risk of possible injury to the hand of the person you are trying to rescue. There is also a slightly lower success rate if the person grabs the bow incorectly as illustrated in the photograph bellow.

Uhh....

There is another way to execute a boat to boat rescue that is friendlier, reliable and more controlled. It consists of paddling up along side the upside down kayaker and physically guiding their hand to your boat. This results in a much more controlled rescue and has two big advantages. The physical contact with the person generally has a calming affect and also allows for excellent communication when the kayaker's head is resting on your kayak.

While this type of boat to boat rescue has a high success rate, it does have one draw back in that it puts the rescuer at risk of being capsized by the person pushing with their arms, hence lifting their head and not hip snapping. This can be mitigated by leaning slightly away from the side of the kayak that is being used to help the person rolling up.

The technique for this rescue works as follows:

1. Paddle up along side of the kayaker.
2. Grab the wrist of the their closest hand (this is important)
   
3. Guide their hand to the side of your kayak.
4. Have the kayaker proceed with placing the other hand on the boat laying their head on the boat than a hip snap as usual with a bow rescue.

Grabbing the wrist and not the hand allows you to take control of their hand as you guide it to your boat. It is important to be aware that you are exposing part of your body to someone who is upside down in the water. Generally paddlers who are calm enough underwater to be asking for a rescue are much less likely to be in a panic when they feel your hand. As a general rule though, if you are approaching an arm and hand that appears like some sort of possessed periscope, it is best to just let that hand reach for their grab loop.

So next time you are on the lake and one of your friends is upside down asking for a rescue, this is just one more option to choose from. Which one will depend on your commfort level, ability, situation and understainding of the limitations of each type of rescue.

Stay tuned for some tips on how to use this on the river.


Chris

The Mythical Z-Drag

Most boaters have heard of the Z-Drag – they may have even thought to themselves at some point, “This might be one of those times when we need that z-drag thing”. Very few though, (at least in the novice/intermediate ranks), it seems actually know how to set up a Z-drag. And for good reason – you just don’t need to use one all that often. In my boating career, I’ve only set up one z-drag, and I’ve seen lots of pinned boats. Most boats can be unpinned with good old-fashioned elbow grease and/or vector pulls. Exhausting those options though, and assuming you still want your boat back, here’s the simplest Z-drag you could assemble. At a minimum you will need a rope, three prusiks, and two carabiners (preferably locking). The prusiks and carabiners should be in your PFD – it doesn’t do you any good if they’re in the pinned boat.

Jon's basic pin kit shown here is not expensive:
8' of 7mm rope:$3.36 (Tree saver strap, this is the one that goes around the tree.)
12' of 5mm rope: $3.60 (Makes two prusiks about 3' long, 5mm bites better on your typical 1/4 through rope)
2 Carabineers: $12.00
1 Locking Carabineer: $15.oo
2 Nylon wheels, $12
Roughly $35 dollars in addition to the throw bag you already own, remember the post about essential gear here.

Prussic loop completed

Tie one end of the throw rope to the pinned boat. Now hold up a second, if you are going to span part of the river with a rope, you need to make sure that kayakers coming from upstream have some warning and can pull over before they are clotheslined by your rope. Okay now you can proceed with tying the figure-eights or bowlines to the security bar, both of which are good knots for this purpose. Attach a dampener to the rope – this could be as simple as hanging a pfd or shirt over the rope. If you apply enough force, those security bars/grab loops on the boat can pull out. The dampner knocks the security bar down before it reaches you or your friend’s face. Tie one of the prusiks around a tree and clip your first carabiner to it. Run the throw rope through this carabiner. Now run that rope through the second carabiner and attach your second prusik to the second carabiner and the first length of rope via a prusik loop. Pull. (See picture below)

Using two pulleys in conjunction with the carabiners is admittedly a more efficient option – some of the mechanical advantage is not sluffed-off through friction. There is also the option to use a third prusik as a break for extended pulls. There are certainly better z-drag systems, this is just the most simple.