Death wish?

[fishinwrench]

5 minutes ago, fshndoug said:

Explain to me how you could get that posterior up between your skinny shoulder blades. Just kidding Wrench.

Skinny? Ha! 🤣 

I was built with broad shoulders for a reason. Somebody must have known that I was gonna have to be heel stomped several times in my life.

[MSUFisherBear]

I've done both. From the kayaking perspective, I agree that I for one wouldn't want to be out in busier traffic lanes. There are so many new boaters that I just don't even feel comfortable at times in the 'yak out on bodies of water that receive much boat traffic. Just the other day I was out in the boat, fishing a fairly skinny creek when two guys came blasting up the creek, full tilt. Had there been a kayak in that water way, I'm not sure the guys would have been able to slow down as fast as they were going and taken reasonable evasive action. It made me a little sick knowing how many times I've watched kayaks and smaller boats frequent that area.

On the flip side, having finally been able to purchase a boat, I also understand the perspective of folks who don't want all that traffic. I try to obey all the rules of the road when out in mine. Kayaks being out in the main channels on busy waterways can make it difficult to navigate if you are in a skinny section of water. I personally haven't ran in to this scenario yet, but I can see how that would happen.

Bottom line is, we all play a part in each other's safety. Kayakers need to be aware of their surroundings and take appropriate safety precautions. Boaters need to be observant, too. 

Disclaimer: I know... I have a soft spot in my heart for the guys in the 'yaks. I was tethered to one because it's all I could afford as a broke college kid. Just remember that before we talk down on them too hard; it's the same generation we are constantly saying needs to be outside doing this sport...

[Devan S.]

I figure its a matter of time before a boat v. kayak accident happens....so don't think I'm saying its not going to but how many of these accidents have happened? I don't know of one yet?

Yet how many boat v. boat accidents happen? Boats v. stationary objects?

Seems to me the common denominator in boating accidents is almost always the power boat and speed related/lack of awareness, no?

[fishinwrench]

17 minutes ago, Devan S. said:

I figure its a matter of time before a boat v. kayak accident happens....so don't think I'm saying its not going to but how many of these accidents have happened? I don't know of one yet?

Yet how many boat v. boat accidents happen? Boats v. stationary objects?

Seems to me the common denominator in boating accidents is almost always the power boat and speed related/lack of awareness, no?

That's a good point.  And you are exactly right. 

More Docks and PWC's get run over than kayaks around here.    But perfectly visible No Wake bouys get clobbered frequently too......and those could just as easily be bright pink & white kayaks with flags on them.

[tjm]

out of curiosity what's average travel speed for bass type boats on the lakes? Do any of them have brakes? Or reverse thrust? 

[Devan S.]

My boat will run mid 40's and I'm not fast by any means and find myself cutting back into the high 20's and 30's just for cruising. 

I think the concern is legitimate and even when I am at Taney and have to slow down and zig zag through the kayaks I cuss and get upset....but ironically I don't have any problem with doing the same for boats drifting in the middle fishing but the action I have to take to avoid is exactly the same. 

FWIW when I floated the MR340...my biggest concerns wasn't barges, wing dikes, or the river. It was buoys being pulled under and popping back up and power boats. Everything else I could see and prepare to avoid but power boats travel fast enough and unpredictable enough that I alone cannot out maneuver them. It would be the exact same on any lake or river in a Kayak. 

[fishinwrench]

3 hours ago, tjm said:

out of curiosity what's average travel speed for bass type boats on the lakes? Do any of them have brakes? Or reverse thrust? 

Depends on who you ask.   The guy who owns the boat will claim 72-78 mph. 

58-67 is more likely. 

[rps]

1 hour ago, fishinwrench said:

Depends on who you ask.   The guy who owns the boat will claim 72-78 mph. 

58-67 is more likely. 

Some of us are much slower. My top end is 37 mph (GPS). I cruise at 30 MPH, about 5000 rpm.I have a much longer window of observation.

If you want to know fear, be chugging along at 6 mph in a thick fog and hear someone, revved to top end, go by using gps maps.

[tjm]

I remember fog at sea, even being on a vessel almost 800' long and displacing 19,000 tons, it wasn't comfortable with half the Atlantic Ocean in front of us. . And on two occasions we saw a lone kayaker 15-20 miles out from land. No flag, no lights and no concerns. I've seen pretty good sized vessels that didn't show up on radar too. Reason I asked about brakes is remembering the Man-overboard maneuvers, with fully reversible screws it took something like 7 miles and long long time to slow and turn and retrace  the course. In the North Atlantic the man would have died of hypothermia three times before being rescued. I know baby boats slow and stop much faster because of less inertia, but you're talking three to five times faster at the stop now flag. 

[snagged in outlet 3]

9 hours ago, fishinwrench said:

Good man!  I'm proud of ya. 

Wish I could say the same. I need my @$$ kicked up between my shoulder blades.

I saw a show once where they talked to people who almost died.  The overwhelming majority said the one thing in their mind near the end was embarrassment.  Some because they did something stupid and some because they didn’t use safety equipment.  It stuck with me.    

Kind of a related thing was when my dad finally died.  He had been doing that rapid hard breathing thing for two days and my mom was begging them to give more morphine.  Not for the pain but to kill him.  It apparently is a common unspoken practice.    
 

Doctor wouldn’t do it though.  Doc said my dad is probably too embarrassed to die in front of us and if we all left he would probably pass away in peace.  It was evening so we all left to go eat.  About an hour later they called and said he died.   The priest said he’s seen the same thing before too.