Extra flotation

I'm looking at options for decreasing my chances of swimming while fishing. 

So far this seems to be a good value and I was thinking I can strap some cinch straps around it, have them go under the bottom of the kayak and connect to the opposite side.
Then I can pull the straps tight so there's pressure on the tube while sitting idle.


Anyone have experience to share?

I'm also thinking of adding industrial strength velcro inside the rod holders and on each rod so if I do roll they should stay despite gravity. Otherwise do some sort of chain + snap that I can clip to the reels, that's attached to the rod holder.

A good way to keep your fishing rods attached to your kayak, without ending up with a big snarl of leashes, is by using a small retractable dog leash.  I clip the leash to a small loop of nylon cord which I leave permanently on my rods.  I’ve been using them in fresh water for years.  I don’t know if they would get eaten up by salt water.  These retractable leashes are a lot cheaper at Walmart than they are at pet stores.  I prefer the retractable leashes with round cords to the retractable leases with flat webbing, because I worry that the flat webbing leashes may twist and get jammed in the leash housing.

damn, those retractable leashes are brilliant.

With respect to your outrigger float idea:  What kind of kayak do you have?

I thought about mounting a noodle (inflatable or buoys on a string) around the water line, but now thinking a couple good sized floats secured on either side of the front seat would add a lot of sturdiness.


Another note, I rented the sit-on-top and the sit inside kayaks a month ago and it was way easier to roll in the sit-on-top, the sit inside your center of gravity is lower but the sit on top kind seem more popular.....

+1 on the retractable dog leash idea for rods/gear. 
Thanks for sharing that, I will give it a try.
Scott

The problem with recreational sit-inside kayaks with large cockpits is that if you tip the kayak over, or even just get water into the kayak, it's difficult to empty it out while out on the water.  And a sit-inside kayak which is full of water will be unstable and difficult to paddle.  A spray skirt will reduce the chances of waves splashing water into the kayak, but the spray skirts on many recreational kayaks create a safety hazard, because if the kayak flips over, the paddler is tangled up in a great big spray skirt.

A sit-on-top kayak is much safer than a large-cockpit sit-inside recreational kayak.  If a big wave breaks over a sit-on-top kayak, the water just runs off it.  If a sit-on-top kayak flips over, the paddler can easily flip it back upright and climb back on top of it while out on the water.  It takes only a few seconds, and virtually no water should get into the sit-on-top while it is upside down.  Kayak fishers use many different models of sit-on-top kayak to fish far out into the open ocean, and to fish for very large species of fish.

You should definitely add flotation inside your recreational kayak, in the bow and stern and/or under the gunwales, so the kayak will float if you swamp it.  And I suggest that you not take your kayak out onto larger bodies of water, where you may encounter big waves if the wind comes up.

There are outrigger systems which you can add to various kinds of kayaks to increase their stability, but I don't know anything about them.  Hopefully somebody who has used some of those outrigger systems will post some advice

The problem with recreational sit-inside kayaks with large cockpits is that if you tip the kayak over, or even just get water into the kayak, it's difficult to empty it out while out on the water.  And a sit-inside kayak which is full of water will be unstable and difficult to paddle.  A spray skirt will reduce the chances of waves splashing water into the kayak, but the spray skirts on many recreational kayaks create a safety hazard, because if the kayak flips over, the paddler is tangled up in a great big spray skirt.

I'm not sure how many times you have used a Sit in but I have for many years and practiced flipping into the water and recovery.  It does NOT fill with water when flipped over.  An air pocket is formed and little water goes inside the kayak.  They are easy to right and remount, many styles on youtube for those who want to see.   There is even one guy who does an roll in a Pungo 140:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&x-yt-ts=1422503916&v=91yACEnwME8&x-yt-cl=85027636  And he doens't even have a skirt on the deck.

Thanks for the detailed rundown!

I definitely need flotation. Do the dry bags work as an air pocket if I stuffed one of them up in the bow or should I buy one of the triangular bladders made for it? Behind the rear seat is enclosed already.

I've used a lot of inflatable boats and love how buoyant they are which makes me want to strap 2 big tubes to either side. Make it more like a barge to row but safer.

I have spray skirt but do like having it all open. I was just thinking about keeping the leg area clear of fixed gear so if I did flip I wouldn't be tangled in all that crap. Instead I think I need to put a storage rod rack behind my seat to put stuff in when not in use. I'm thinking a rectangular pvc deck that rotates so I can flip it around so I can access stuff without having to move much...

This is my idea prototype for the deck rack:  

Before you go reinventing added floatation, stuuf the bow and stern cavities and under the coaming with pool noodles. If that doesn't fit the bill for you, there are commercially available floatation bags for both now and stern that will work for your canyak.

Lee,  take a look at these flotation/stabilizers.  They might work for what you want.  At least by investigating you might gain some more knowledge about what will work for you.

http://www.outdoorplay.com/Kayak-Stabilizer-Sponsons?sc=7&category=8400

Wrapping anything around the hull is going eliminate any glide your boat has. If the floats touch the water they are going to create a huge amount of drag.
Even with the extra flotation I would not consider that boat safe in anything but still fresh water with very little wind or chop.

Flat nylon straps hugging the bottom would create a lot of drag?

Island natives use wooden canoes with floats pretty successfully...






They even have an ocean racing category for kayaks/canoes outriggers.

You could say it's not safe to fish in anything under 35' and have merit. Obviously you don't go out in 8 foot seas in a small craft.

I'm not sure how many times you have used a SINK but I have for many years and practiced flipping into the water and recovery.  It does NOT fill with water when flipped over.  An air pocket is formed and little water goes inside the kayak.  They are easy to right and remount, many styles on youtube for those who want to see.

I have thirty years of whitewater kayaking experience, and many years of canoeing experience before that.  In my experience, if a kayaker swims out of a sit-inside kayak which doesn't have floatation, the kayak will often fill up with water except for a small bubble of air in the bow or the stern.  The plastic in kayaks barely floats, and the metal parts in a kayak weigh it down.  The foam in the kayak's outfitting and whatever air bubble the kayak retains are all that keep it afloat.  The kayak will sometimes end up floating vertically in the water.  I hate running into beginner whitewater kayakers who don't have reliable rolls, who take swims, and who don't have flotation in their kayaks, because it can be so difficult to get a swamped kayak full of water to the shore.  Float bags make it easier to get a swamped kayak to shore, but it's still a lot of work.

In my experience, once a sit-inside kayak is full of water, even if it has float bags, while the kayak is out on the water it's very difficult for a kayaker to get the water out of the kayak so he or she can paddle the kayak to shore.  If other kayakers are there, they can pull the kayak up on the fronts of their kayaks and turn the kayak over to drain out the water, and then they can help the swimming kayaker to get back into the kayak without filling it with water again.  But this is a challenge even in relatively calm conditions.

A large-cockpit recreational sit-inside kayak is more likely to fill up with water than a whitewater kayak or a sea kayak, because the cockpit is so much larger.  In fact, a recreational kayak with no flotation may sink.  That's why it isn't safe to take a large-cockpit sit-inside recreational kayak anywhere far from shore, or anyplace where waves may be encountered.  It's too easy to swamp such a kayak, and too hard for the kayaker to empty out the water and paddle back to shore without the prompt assistance of experienced kayakers.

The straps will cause a bit of drag but the floats you're thinking about adding will be the biggest problem. To be effective in the way you are hoping for they will have to be positioned so that the are in the water at least a little. This will create a ton of drag on your kayak to the point where paddling a mile or against heavy current will be very tough. It will also be very difficult to get them to stay in place if the kayak actually does tip to one side since you're planning on securing them with straps. Best advice I can give you is to just not take that kind of kayak anywhere you could encounter decent wind chop or in the ocean. Those boats are not safe for serious kayak fishing in my opinion.