Knot For Securing Bow Leash To Paddle Loom?
(PeteCresswell)
of the people (who otherwise might bet mowed down by a kayak washing in on the
white water).
Requirements:
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1) Minimal risk of entanglement. User wants tb connected to the boat - but
on the user's terms...
2) Shock absorption. When the boat goes over the falls and the user has bailed
out off the back of the wave, they don't want the paddle yanked out of their
hands any more often than necessary.
3) Reliability. Amazing how stuff comes undone after a few trips through
the rinse cycle.
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I've been through a few iterations so far - addressing the entanglement problem
by running the line through a pool noodle for most of it's length, leaving only
a couple feet free at the paddle end. Some Velcro on the deck and the end
of the pool noodle keeps it from flopping around while paddling.
For line, I've tried
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1) El-cheapo cotton-core stuff from Home Depot. Wasn't stretchy enough, so
I spliced in a foot of bungee. Seemed to work ok, but I didn't like the
splicing part - seemed tb a needless potential point of failure.
2) 3/8" nylon braid. Stretchy enough without bungee, but seems too thin.
There's also a wrap-and-amputate factor on that last couple of feet vis-a-vis
the hands and fingers. The nylon also furs from contact with the Velcro.
Put some heat shrink tubing over the line to fix the furring and *thought*
I had also address the wrist/hand wrapping issue... but the heat shrink
didn't hold up in use.
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Lacking donation of somebody's retired climbing rope, I think a heaver version
of the nylon braid - like 11 mm - will get around the wrapping issue and add
even more shock absorption.
Which brings us to... attaching the line to the loom of the paddle.
My first cut was some seatbelt webbing and Velcro. The webbing wraps around the
loom and velcros to itself with a third layer of hook on top. I've got a
couple of o-rings taped in place on the loom so the webbing/attachment stays
centered and doesn't get pulled to one end or the other under stress.
But I don't really like the webbing approach. Seems needlessly complicated and
Velcro's holding ability degrades with use. Another potential point of failure.
So, I'm back to some kind of knot.
Something that can be tied tight and will stay tight enough that it will stay
centered and not slip over the o-rings.
So far I see:
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- Axle Hitch http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axle_Hitch
- Constrictor Hitch http://www.realknots.com/knots/constric.htm
- Boa Knot http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boa_knot
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There seem tb many more candidates.
But which is the right one?
Anybody actually doing this (securing a line to a paddle and not having it come
loose under use/abuse)?
--
PeteCresswell
riverman
(PeteCresswell) wrote:
>
> Anybody actually doing this (securing a line to a paddle and not having it come
> loose under use/abuse)?
> --
>
Pete: Keep it simple.
If you want a loop that slides, I'd suggest a bowline. If you want
something that sits tight, I'd use a clove hitch and cast off the
running end with a few halfhitches.
--riverman
thief
I never use a leash when surfing....neither to the boat nor the
paddle...would never...i do not like the idea of a line in the water if
you have been deboated....
if you do use one make certain that you carry a knife heavy duty enough
to cut it if it wraps you.....
long boat-i used to use the Nigel Dennis paddle leash and attach it to
my pfd....
http://www.grokayaks.com/images/Paddle%20Leash1.jpg
rob
(PeteCresswell)
>http://www.grokayaks.com/images/Paddle%20Leash1.jpg
The paddle-end Velcro is looks tb essentially what I came up with.
It certainly works - and under considerable stress too. But my experience with
Velcro is that it's holding power degrades with use over time. I'd expect it to
eventually leave me holding a paddle...with the boat/leash somewhere else.
Riverman's "KIS" statement is what I'm aiming for. A knot instead of Velcro:
one less potential point of failure *if* it's the right knot and *if* it doesn't
work loose in use.
The rest of it - as presented in the photo - I would regard as problematic right
out of the box.
To wit:
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1) The line looks tb entanglement-prone. Too flexible. It's also quite
thin - from a cutting perspective, not strength.
One appreciates this more once they've had a line wrapped around a wrist
or a couple of fingers and then had some whitewater yank the boat
away. Thicker cuts less and is less prone to wrapping.
2) The attachment point doesn't look like it would weathercock the kayak
into surf or a strong wind - greatly increasing the force applied
through the leash.
3) The attachment point appears failure-prone under stress.
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That system seems to trade lack of weather cocking off against the benefit of
as shorter leash length. i.e. the shorter the leash, the less entanglement
potential... although I can testify that just two feet is enough to cause
trouble.
I still don't know what the answer is.
Your caution on entanglement certainly rings true.
My use of pool noodle *seems* to remove the entanglement issue from most of the
line's length, but the last couple of feet to the paddle remain a problem.
I'm hoping that thicker line and some sort of wrapping will stiffen it enough
that it won't readily loop around anything - yet remain usable.
--
PeteCresswell
Jeremy
> The paddle-end Velcro is looks tb essentially what I came up with.
> It certainly works - and under considerable stress too. But my
> experience with Velcro is that it's holding power degrades with use
> over time. I'd expect it to eventually leave me holding a paddle...
> with the boat/leash somewhere else.
If this is your only concern with the hook and loop solution, would buttons
or snaps work? Either should be easy to install in the same length of
webbing, potentially in addition to the existing Velcro. Adding eyelets and
lacing the sleeve is another route, although probably far more work.