Video: Have Fun and Avoid Drowning – A How-To for Packrafters

[Addie Bedford]

Companion forum thread to:

Video: Have Fun and Avoid Drowning – A How-To for Packrafters

[Larry Tullis]

Nice instructional, I'd like to see more of that sort of thing…."video articles".

[Brett Tucker]

Nicely done.

Now, if I hadn't actually seen that instructor demonstrate the *sideways* flip, torquing himself *against* the spraydeck's velcro opening, and *still* managing to wind up inverted rather than just falling out… (mind-boggling!)

There must be an occupant weight threshold, above which the velcro just releases during a flip, as it does for me. For lighter occupants, obviously the velcro has enough resistance to potentially keep them pinned inside the boat after a flip.

Which raises the question, could a less aggressive velcro be incorporated into the spraydeck that would reduce the chances of the occupant flipping with the boat? As we know, the spraydeck isn't intended to support the raft's structural integrity in any way. And it's not intended to be water-tight. Would it matter if it occasionally came part-way loose during aggressive boating, if the net result were enhanced safety against drowning?

[Ryan Jordan]

Brett,

A less aggressive velcro might not negate the need to grab the spraydeck and open it up underwater.

This is a pretty unique thing for whitewater boaters. Kayakers can eskimo roll. Packrafters don't have that option and they must get out of the boat.

The first response is to forget you have to open the spraydeck and try to get your head above water.

That invariably results in panic and distress. It's best just to calm down, go back under, grab the deck loop, pull, and get out.

I've done this enough so as not to be fearful of it anymore.

I got my foot tangled in my pack. I've done that once – it was pretty scary – in Class III whitewater, I never did get my foot out, and ended up swimming to shore with my boat in the calm water below the rapids. My foot got tangled in a shoulder strap on an open-decked boat when I flipped.

But these are rare things. My real fear comes from getting a foot caught in boulders, getting pinned to a strainer, and getting stuck in a Maytag.

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