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Leash connector bet IK and paddler??

4K views 18 replies 12 participants last post by  Dustin Judd 
#1 ·
Have given the idea some thought as I realise that in heavy water if the IK gets away, you will be swimming, or be dependent on others to corral it and for rescue.I know that such lines are frowned upon in ww conditions but with a reliable quick release system, may be something worth trying.Any thoughts on this?

I have a plan how to do this and will try it out next week in moving water and post what I find with it.
 
#2 ·
Definitely a risk but I SUP with a leash attached to my rescue PFD and feel okay with it most of the time. In heavier stuff with more rocks I take it off because it scares me though.

I've never seen an IK leashed, but in the PNW I have seen long webbing "painters" tied to the ends though to aid in grabbing it when you fall out. I feel like the SUP needs leashing because you fall off so damn much but you can stay in an IK through some pretty gnarly stuff (up to Class IV+/V-?) so I wouldn't run the risk if it were me.

If you are set on it then look at the coiled SUP leashes and a rescue PFD. I'd only use it on big clean rivers though, no rocks or, especially, strainers. Be safe!
 
#4 ·
re leash

Well, I tried it today. I used a flat stretchy bungee type strap with hooks at either end. I hooked one end into the thigh strap loop near my foot and the other end I hooked into a bungee I had around my chest over the PFD.Can't get any quicker release than that.I went into a small hole that still managed to flip me and gave me a chance to see how this worked.It worked fine, I stayed close to the boat and could even use the leash to pull the IK out of the hole, where it was surfing upside down.
I then played around in flat water, flipping over and seeing if it gave me any problems , but none so far.The leash is about 5 feet long, and stretches to about 7 feet.
 
#6 ·
Don't suggest

"I would be concerned that the "quick release" hooks will be impossible to release if the IK is hung up and you are pulled downstream by the current."

That was exactly what happened to me many, many years ago. I was wearing a quick release rescue system, one where you can pull the buckle to release it. I was towing a boat with it after the paddler's wet exit, with the system attached to me. Well the force of the current made it impossible for me to release the system. It scared the $^^&#$ out of me; it's the closest I think I ever came to thinking I might be killed on the river. Fortunately I got lucky and was able to get close to shore and release it... I never used the system that way after that; if I needed it for a tow, I took it off my waist and held on to it instead so I could release it easily if needed.

Ropes, bungee, etc. can snag on or wrap around anything: rock, strainers, your legs, your neck.... I'd definitely carry a knife and know how to extract it if needed. But I do not suggest attaching yourself to the boat... Practice instead re-entering your boat after a flip.

Just my sand pebble of an opinion.

Annie
 
#7 ·
I paddled Iks for years and years in Oregon, Washington, and even some Idaho WW. Don't leash yourself to anything. You are putting yourself an bigger position to get harmed than any trouble you might save yourself. You have to develop a skill set for falling out, holding your paddle, and grabbing your boat.
The worst thing that ever happened to me was I had to take a 1/4 mile jog in a very remote wilderness to get my boat corralled. I've done a lot of small, creeky no name stuff with wood, boulders, and even railroad ties. Having anything to get hung up on could mean death, period. You will find the more you flip and self rescue, the less need you will have for a leash.
 
#8 ·
Wow, shocked at Amatula's story (never heard of a rescue buckle seizing) but more so at Jimm's. I'm not gonna tell you how to live your life but attaching your IK to your PFD by a tie down bungee is really scary to me and almost everyone else: there's a heap of ways that can go wrong. I suggest googling "kayak tow leash" and "whitewater rescue PFD" to see some examples of good gear that is moderately safe.

I agree that the best thing you can do is learn to self rescue quickly and paddle with friends that can help you out!

be careful out there!
 
#9 ·
Shocked too

You often hear it said to practice using rescue devices. That's good practice. But that doesn't necessarily mean it will always work in the "real" (I-would-never-had-anticipated-this-could-happen) paddling situations we can find ourselves in. I had a good system (sorry I cannot recall the name; and ironically, I lost it on the river one day; it fell off somehow). The force from the boat and current pulling me downstream was incredible. I didn't have a knife at the time (mistake!) to cut the rope. A friend of mine, an ACA certified instructor, told me recently when I mentioned I had been with a rafting group: wear a knife especially on rafting trips! He mentioned that throw ropes can be tangled around swimmers too and jammed in rocks (something I never considered). And with a knife you can save yourself if you do get entangled in one. So that's probably one of the most important pieces of gear you can carry. JIMM: another point to consider with a leash: sometimes you need to move fast, to get to shore (say to avoid a strainer). If you are leashed to your boat, that isn't going to be easy... Even if paddling easy water, don't leash. The scariest things that have happened to me were in easy class 2ish water and on rivers I have run multiple times. Don't be complacent and assume you'll be safe just because it's easy or familiar or because you're with your buds or ___ (whatever your thinking is). Oh and JIMM: thanks for posting the question! We all can learn from the questions such as yours that are raised on the board!
Be safe and enjoy,
Annie
 
#10 ·
I like the idea of the webbing tails tied on and dragging behind for something to aid in recovery. Had a tough swim the other day to retrieve my packraft after a flip and 6 to 8 ft of tail would have saved me a lot of work for sure. I know it's not an IK but I think the method still applies.
 
#11 ·
Please do not use a paddle leash.

I had a good friend who stepped up to IV-V creeking using a paddle leash. We all thought it was a bad idea but he swore by it.

Until we ran a local IV-V creek at high water and he spent several recirc cycles in a keeper hole, with his legs tangled up in the paddle leash. Luckily it was just really scary and a good learning opportunity. But it could have a ton worse.

And, it did not even keep his paddle, which was ripped off the leash. So, paddle still gone, and an entrapment hazard?

No.

When SUP paddlers start running continuous technical IV-V 140 fpm water, we'll see if they are still using leashes ....
 
#12 ·
I'd sooner use a quick-release seatbelt. If you're swimming with junk leashed to you, you're just begging for a date with Death.

Either roll up, or save yourself. Gear comes later; that goes for your friends helping you too. In the (paraphrased) words of another buzzard, your buddies shouldn't be running around like chickens with their heads cut off, to get your gear; lest they also swim or get hurt. Swims are bad, mmmkay, but sacrificing safety when shit hits the fan, in a futile effort to cut costs, is even worse.

Keep rollin, rollin, rollin; unless it's some inescapable hole or something.

Ps. Seatbelt/thigh-straps, spray-deck etc, all cool in my book; as long as you can safely exit the inflatable without trouble.
 
#14 ·
I set up a thigh belt in my OC1, a somewhat common practice for C1'ers. People have used everything from airline seat buckles to rescue vest buckles and some other not so bright ideas as well. I used a buckle and strap from a safety vest, tested it out many times on dry land and never had a problem. Until I tried it out in the pool in a not even close to real world situation. It failed on the first attempt, a rescue specific safety buckle in a still pool. I've never had that much water in my lungs, scared shitless, and I was 10 ft from a lifegaurd at a pool session. I had to be cut out of the belt system with scissors from the life guard's office because I'd taken my knife out of my vest as I didn't think to have it on me for a pool session. If you use a long ass tether in a river situation, you're going to loose, permanently. I knew better, but convinced myself that it was worth it for the increase in control. Don't do it.
 
#15 ·
A lot of people have died using leashes in swift water. Quick release harnesses on rescue PFDs greatly lower the risk, but I would not want to be attached to my boat at all times, even with the quick release. Chances are if you are swimming out of your IK the whitewater is big enough that you shouldn't want to be tied to your boat.

Many people have carabiners connected to the quick release belt so they can clip into a boat or paddle if the situation is safe. This way they can assess the situation, and decide whether or not to clip in. The problem with clipping in from the start is you don't really know where you are going to swim, and you don't know if where you swim is safe place to be tied to a boat.

The biggest point that needs to be stressed is that gear is replaceable - you are not.
 
#16 ·
It's been mentioned before, but not in this thread, so I'll give it a whirl. Leashes are made for class 1 and sea kayaking . They are a convenience so you can grab your fishing pole, lunch, etc. It's just something that helps enable calm-water kayak-fishing or as a safety tool in open water, since hand-paddling for miles isn't really an option in tide.

It makes sense to use it for SUPing up to a certain point, but I really can't comment on that sport. If it were me, which I suppose it may never be, I would only have the leash, if at all, on easy stuff; if I still need a leash on Class 3+, I probably shouldn't be running class 3+. To get ready for class 3+ on a board, you want your more skilled friends down stream of you as you descend a drop, ready to help you should you swim. But this is the kayaking board and I probably should refrain from commenting too much on a sport I don't participate in (well, other than vicariously).
 
#18 ·
Dustin,

Yes it is ok /good to have a trailer of webbing on a ducky .It /they give you more things to grab onto.But 6 to 8 feet is WAAAY too long.You could get entangled or it could wrap on something. Jeff Bennett recommended 30" and part of that is taken up by the knot.Make sure there are no knots on the trailing end that could chock into a crack.You could have one on both ends of the boat and use them to tie off to bushes .Even better is a cinchable flip strap across the width off the boat under the seat /thwart.Usually when you get spanked in a ducky you come up right next to it, even in fairly pushy-creeky water.Exceptions to this would be side surfing or getting stuffed in big holes where you wash out and boat keeps surfing and in shallow fast mank and I definitely would not want to be tied to a boat in one of those scenarios.
 
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