ccarlson Posted July 22, 2004 Share Posted July 22, 2004 No, this is not a troll... it's f'real http://www.uscgboating.org/safety/efficacy.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rick stoehrer Posted July 22, 2004 Share Posted July 22, 2004 fabulous. a government agency researching our sport. i feel better already knowing the coasties are on it.gear, any gear, will never obviate the need for skills and practice and experience. education, not legislation.why is it sometimes folks feel obligated to save us from ourselves? educate, train and then let people make their own decisions.if paddlers understand a situation and then decide to take a risk...isn't that kinda their own business?and i know it isn't you carl, but what was the name of that sponson jacka$$ that trolled the webs for awhile extolling their marvelous virtues? man, if this were to ever pass to law....that is going to be one really unpopular dude! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PattyP Posted July 22, 2004 Share Posted July 22, 2004 Whats a Sponson? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael_Crouse Posted July 22, 2004 Share Posted July 22, 2004 >Whats a Sponson? Oh I can't wait for the day when all kayakers don't know what sponsons are :-)Sponsons are long inflatable tubes that attach to the sides of a kayak for added stability. Great idea, but they don't work. The added bouancy is too close to the boat to be very effective, we all know what happens when that paddle float moves next to the boat. They add lots of drag (when deployed) they have fewer uses then a paddle float, they take longer to inflate, some are made poorly. I saw the inflation tube fall off a pair of sponsons. Maybe they're good on a canoe or if you're sailing a kayak, but IMHO they're useless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeanK Posted July 22, 2004 Share Posted July 22, 2004 The point was, how effective are sponsons? Not for legislative recommendation.Taken from the conclusion: "This report documents information about sponsons...It demonstrates that sponsons may not be appropriate for every canoe and kayak...As with other boating safety equipment...(sponsons') use remains a personal decision by the boater."I think it's great that the Coast Guard is giving information (educating) folks about anothery type of safety gear. Those who may not know how, or may not be physically able to get into their boat on their own -- MAY have a viable 'safe' alternative to kayaking solo while reducing their own risk.Sean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccarlson Posted July 22, 2004 Author Share Posted July 22, 2004 Yeah, our tax dollars at work protecting us from ourselves... somehow, we've let this government thing get away from us! When I saw this report on another BB, I thought it was a joke. But, when I saw that the CG had really done it, I was more than a bit annoyed. The guy you're thinking of who spammed the world with his nonsense about sponsons is named "Tim" something. I've seen him referred to on various boards... apparently a real piece of work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffcasey Posted July 22, 2004 Share Posted July 22, 2004 A sponson is to a kayak as training wheels are to a bicycle. Actually, even that isn't a good analogy, since training wheels are often used for training, but nobody trains with sponsons.Technically, there are boats that make good use of them. Feathercraft folding boats have internal sponsons, which tighten up the skin and fine-tune the amount of primary stability desired. High performance boats of theirs (like the Khatsalono) really need them. There have also been some articles (Outside mag?) of whacko expeditionary types who do multi-day ocean crossings...they usually put out sponsons for stability while sleeping, cooking, or relieving oneself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccarlson Posted July 22, 2004 Author Share Posted July 22, 2004 Well, maybe I'm paranoid, but the danger with government agencies developing "reports" regarding their vision of the safety aspects of any activity is that the next logical step (to bureaucrats) is to start pushing for legislation. So, I saw this report as a red warning flag. Just my $.02, ymmv. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KayakDan Posted July 26, 2004 Share Posted July 26, 2004 Gee,sponsons seem like a great idea! Now I don't have to bother learning paddle float or T rescues,and all that stuff! I can just strap 'em on and head out into the ocean!D'oh!!!Here's your sponson guy.[http://www.sponsonguy.com/]Thanks Tim,for saving us all from certain death due to our stupidity!All this time we thought kayak skills were important...who knew? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Nystrom Posted July 27, 2004 Share Posted July 27, 2004 I downloaded and read the report. It basically says what we already know; sponsons hove some utility (fishing, sleeping, towing injured/sick paddlers, etc.) but they're not a rescue panacea. They're useless unless the boat is set up for them prior to paddling, they make an overturned boat harder to right. They make it difficult or impossible to roll and so on.I found it very interesting that Timmy Boy's products were conspicuously NOT mentioned, while others were. I guess he's pissed off the Coast Guard, too.Overall, I found nothing alarming in the report or its tone. I got the sense that this was a case of the CG "going though the motions" of an investigation and that they have little interest in the subject, especially since the results are so ambiguous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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