Sculling PFD recommendations

[nowa...@gmail.com]

I have reviewed the boards for information on sculling suitable PFD's, but have not seen anything very current. With dropping water temperatures, I have been advised by my better half that if I wish to continue, a PFD will be required. (I believe her requirements supersede those of any/all local, state and/or federal jurisdiction :)
Thoughts or suggestions? Strictly for recreational/training, no competition-like events are in my immediate horizon...I have successfully re-entered a racing single in the past, but not in colder water environment.
Thanks in advance...

[Rainer]

Here in Canada, many local rowers on the west coast use this product: http://www.mustangsurvival.com/recreational/md3071?division=recreation&country=23 . Worn like a fanny pack, in the event of a capsize remember to turn it from your back to in front of you before deploying the CO2 cartridge that inflates it.

[nowa...@gmail.com]

Thank you...these are options of which I was completely unaware. Thank you to Henning as well...

[Ellen Braithwaite]

Check out Stormy Seas. They make two vests that are suitable for rowing.

[John Greenly]

On Monday, November 3, 2014 1:35:58 PM UTC-5, Rainer wrote:

Yes, there are several brands of these belt-pack inflatable PFDs, I've been using one for several years. I also wear it backward and don't notice it is there at all. Don't get one of the automatic ones that inflates by itself when it hits water!! The Stormy Seas ones are fine, but a bit hot to wear in warm weather.

An EXTREMELY important point, though: Don't count on any PFD, especially an inflatable, to play a useful role in protecting you from very cold water! If you were to find yourself in lethally cold water long enough to need a PFD to keep you above water, you're probably going to have died from the cold first anyway. That can happen VERY quickly, not from hypothermia but from shock. You'll find some past threads here on RSR about that.

John G

[Carl]

Good points!

On the shock element, be aware of what is often called "dry drowning".
This can kill without much or any water entering the lungs. AIUI, the
shock of entering the cold water causes rapid exhalation & a muscular
spasm (laryngospasm) which then closes the airways to inhalation however
hard you try, with obvious consequences. Exhalation, which might
re-open those airways, can't occur as you have no air left to exhale.

This may be the cause of sudden drowing in hot summers when you leap
into a lake to cool off. As you swim, you stir up the often far colder
subsurface layers, gasp with the cold shock & find yourself unable to
inhale. Typically the victim disappears, & with the normal reporting
inanity, they are said to have been sucked under by a strong current, or
dragged under by weeds. What current, or which hyperactive weeds, &
where's the evidence?? As a result, the public are misinformed & the
very simple, very real risk of swimming in thermally stratified waters
remains unlearned.

Your best protection against hypothermia on immersion is the wearing of
close-fitting, multilayered clothing with, ideally, at least 1
relatively waterproof layer. This won't exclude water contacting the
body, but it traps relatively stable layers of water as well as air
which act as thermal insulants to restrict heat loss. And ensure that
arms & legs are covered too.

Cheers -
Carl
--
Carl Douglas Racing Shells -
Fine Small-Boats/AeRoWing Low-drag Riggers/Advanced Accessories
Write: Harris Boatyard, Laleham Reach, Chertsey KT16 8RP, UK
Find: tinyurl.com/2tqujf
Email: ca...@carldouglasrowing.com Tel: +44(0)1932-570946 Fax: -563682
URLs: carldouglasrowing.com & now on Facebook @ CarlDouglasRacingShells

[nowa...@gmail.com]

Excellent points by all...Having experienced total immersion in true ice water (6" of ice cubes floating on top), albeit for a mere 20' trek, the feeling of near-paralysis was both mind numbing and enlightening at the same time. Fortunately the water was only 4' deep with a ladder available for an easy if not slow exit. Tight, layered clothing was and is in order around cold water. That being said, no way will I take a chance if water is, IMHO, too cold for a safe venture.
Thanks again for the sage and helpful advice/suggestions...

[John Greenly]

On Tuesday, November 4, 2014 9:40:33 AM UTC-5, nowa...@gmail.com wrote:

> Excellent points by all...Having experienced total immersion in true ice water (6" of ice cubes floating on top), albeit for a mere 20' trek, the feeling of near-paralysis was both mind numbing and enlightening at the same time. Fortunately the water was only 4' deep with a ladder available for an easy if not slow exit. Tight, layered clothing was and is in order around cold water. That being said, no way will I take a chance if water is, IMHO, too cold for a safe venture.

Great! In that case, get an inflatable and wear it in good health! I use mine thinking of the possiblilty that I could get separated from my boat when I am out by myself on rough, windy large bodies of water. Boats can drift faster than you can swim in rough conditions.

Cheers,
John G

[John Mulholland]

In the UK, Getech make a life jacket for rowers; it sits quite high on the chest allowing room for the hands to follow their normal path at the finish of the stroke. Their website is: http://www.getek.co.uk/ I don't know how you would get them delivered outside the UK.

[rowsa...@gmail.com]

The RowSafeUSA website surveys a variety of PFDs suitable for rowing, including two new one's that were introduced early in 2019. There are actually so many choices now it comes down to individual preferences. I've been wearing one of the new hybrids this year and it's become my personal favorite. As the saying goes, "the best lifejacket is the one you wear..."

[carl]

> ---

This should be a "hot" topic for winter for rowers in every temperate
climate. I will apologise in advance that for some this may be TL;DR

In particular, it should be a prime consideration for clubs with young
(& elderly) rowers. I & others are on record advocating compulsory
cold-weather kit for <18s, to comprise high-visibility multilayer
clothing, to be worn when air &/or water temperatures are below 10C - in
such as the USA that'd be a 50/50F rule, & a 10/10C rule in metric
countries.

The inclusion of a non-impeding PFD/lifejacket giving sufficient
buoyancy to keep a swimmer's head above water ought not to be too
tricky. I also understand that there are a number of very acceptable
(for rowing use) PFDs on the market.

The problem we should address is that in cold water a swimmer loses body
heat up to 50x faster than in still air at the same temperature, much of
it from arms & legs (which have high surface to volume ratios). The
brain quickly responds to this heat loss by restricting limbic blood
circulation in its effort to sustain blood temperature & circulation for
the vital organs, including itself.

But with circulation to arms & legs thus restricted, their strength &
power are severely curtailed & you soon lose the ability to swim, even
to tread water. So without some support, hence the PFD, & without
rescue you'll be unable to reach safety & will very probably slip under
& drown. That may happen faster if you were working hard at the point
of immersion as you may then gasp, suddenly exhale, & then draw a small
amount of water into your now compacted lungs - when a muscular spasm
which can prevent all passage of air in or water out.

The advantage of close-fitting multilayer clothing is that it retains
many thin layers of air or water which, as it is not flowing, form a
highly effective thermal insulant. Of course, rowers (especially
younger ones) will complain about getting hot, but they'll never get as
hot in a properly-designed winter kit as when rowing or training at
25C/77F in strong sunlight (which reflects back off the water too).

Mandatory winter kit like this can be really smart & strikingly visible,
great in a sport which has become somewhat obsessive about its image. I
have previously urged rowing's NGBs to take it on as a real advance in
young rower safety but also, cynically, as "a nice little earner". I'm
still waiting.

The UK authorities should have grasped this nettle after the tragic
death of a young sculler in the Thames at Reading on 2 January 2005.
Sikander was lightly clad. Air & water temperatures were both about
5-6C. He capsized his single. He was told from the bank to swim to the
bow of his boat & tow it to the far bank - as was then official advice.
But those who make up rules rarely test their advice on themselves! The
bow of a single gives a swimmer no support, & towing it slows you down.
As you chill, your grip rapidly declines & panic is probable. Close to
the bank, Sikander struck out in desperation. He did reach the bank but
was unable to scale it to safety. No other sculler in the vicinity was
in a position, or knew how, to intervene to help him. He slipped back,
went under & drowned.

Sadly, officialdom went into self-defence, image preservation mode.
Statements were issue which dumped the blame on the victim "for leaving
his boat". A sadly typical response, which ensures that the danger
remains unaddressed.

A number of us did our best to change the official mindset &
instructions on self-rescue. We developed the Paddle-&-Straddle
self-rescue method.

Paddle-&-Straddle recognises that in cold water you lose strength so
rapidly that you have a very short window of opportunity before becoming
the potential victim. By all means make one serious attempt to get back
into the boat. But doing that requires significant strength & reserves,
& the first attempt will erode both. What you can best do, & can
achieve if you don't delay, is to leave the boat inverted & haul
yourself onto the middle of its upturned hull - it will still be
perfectly buoyant & able to support your spread-eagled body with all its
vital bits clear of the water. And even if you lose consciousness
through exposure, you'll still be readily visible for rescuers. But, if
instead you've made several failed attempts to right & re-occupy your
boat, you may then lack the strength even to straddle it, so please
don't mess about like that.

Once flopped over the upturned boat you have many advantages over the
person who swam to the bow & started towing the boat to the bank.
1. You can doggy paddle to safety, probably faster than you can swim,
despite the oars & riggers in the water
2. Your rate of heat loss is massively reduced.
3. You are visible (swimmers are easily missed).
4. If you do lose consciousness, you won't drown & can still be rescued,
long after you'd have drowned as a swimmer.

I know that this is under discussion right now with USRowing. I hope it
will get serious consideration right now in the N Hemisphere & be
considered meanwhile in the Southern ditto. And water needn't be very
cold to present a severe danger to an unsupported swimmer.

Please consider -

[James HS]

My club has a straddle and paddle RULE.

When we do capcise drills in a pool we teach straddle and paddle as the right way to react. I then challenge anyone to try to get back in a single - and even in a nice warm pool few manage it.

That gets the point home.

The Tideway has some long stretches of non-climbable banks - which is why I tend to boat 2 hours after high tide (so there is wade-able beach, and continually scan for ways out of the river while I am sculling. I have never fallen in through a technique error, but have hit things that have sent me in - and there is a lot of detritus floating about.

2 months ago I was hit by a drunken motor launch driver who thought he should be on my side of the fairway - so I am too well aware of the likelihood being real.

I have tested several pfds and never found a comfortable one - so would welcome suggestions




James

[John Greenly]

Here's one more possibility related to Straddle and Paddle. Twice over the years in long distance open water races I have capsized, once due to snagging a blade on a lobster pot buoy and once by losing an oar on the recovery in strong wind, due to severe forearm cramping. I can get back in a single in calm water by the usual method fairly easily, but in both of these cases it was rough and windy and I failed in two or three attempts. I was by myself far from land. I turned the hull upright, and then slung my leg over the bow facing sternward, and hoisted my body up to lie prone on the bow deck. A very long straddle and paddle would have commenced then, but I realized that I could pull myself along the hull and grab an oar handle. And then I realized that I could pull myself on into the cockpit while still lying face down straddling the hull. My boat, a Maas Flyweight, has a stern wing rigger, so nothing was in the way. This would not work with a bow rigger. While still lying down I managed to reach the other oar handle, and then I just sat up with legs hanging down on both sides, then lifted my legs onboard, got the seat under me and rowed on. I since have practiced this maneuver, and it works great. The second time I knew the drill and this took almost less time to do than to tell. The hardest part is getting the oars in hand.

hope this helps somebody sometime,

John