Paddle Leash Safety

While I use a leash myself, and find it very helpful in assisted rescues, mine has a quick release in the form of a practice golf ball that is easily released from under the bungee cord. And yet, I am not aware of any commercial leashes availble that have this feature. Most come with a plastic hook that is very difficult, if not impossible to unclip with gloves or cold hands. I would recommend to everyone that they replace this clip with some kind of quick release.

Safety Concerns

I participated in the Sea Kayak Georgia symposium this year and while assisting with a BCU 4* assessment I noticed that one of the students was wearing a mesh muti pocket overvest that was worn over his PFD. He had every pocket filled with items presumably to have easy access to without the need to open a hatch cover. The overall weight was substantial and this student seemed to have noticeably more difficulty in both controlling and rentering his boat. It dawned on me that not only did the added weight compromise his buoyancy, but also contributed to his balance. I have since considered the possibility of the mesh catching on something on the deck and concluded that while the idea of the vest seems good at the onset, I am not sure that I would recommend it to people paddling in challenging conditions.

There was a post on paddling.net that I responded to that I thought might be of interest on this blog. The poster asked for help deciding between a Romany Explorer, Nigel Foster Legend and a Tempest 170. He received a lot of very subjective opinions with very little substance so I offered my 2 cents as follows;
Hi Greg,
Normally, I don't get involved in this type of discussion, but it seems like your inquiry is genuine and the amount of subjectivity on this forum is really a disservice to you.
First of all, I have owned an Explorer and presently paddle a Tempest. I have spent a great deal of time in a Legend as well. All three are good boats, but have distinctly different charactaristics. When you consider "balance" you must consider both above the water and below the water. A boat that is balanced below the water will be less effected by water movement as in current and waves, Whereas a boat that is balanced above the waterline will be less effected by wind.
The way to discover this quality in a boat is to paddle the boat unloaded abeam to the wind. Stop the boat. A boat that is perfectly balanced above the waterline should turn into the wind when you lean forward and away from the wind when you lean back. To test the balance below the waterline paddle the boat in moving water, i.e. current, surf or wind waves. A boat balanced below thw waterline will behave the same way backwards as forwards.
People often mention rough water performance, but fail to distinguish between comfort and performance. You can feel comfortable in rough water while sacrificing the ability to manouver the boat and vice a versa.
So it is important that you seriously consider what conditions you are planning to paddle in before selecting the boat as all of the three are good boats.
My own observations for the three are as follows;
The Romany Explorer feels the most stable and because of the lowered back deck is by far the easiest to roll. This same quality of lowered back deck changes its above water line balance and as a result it has more tendency to turn into the weather in the wind.
The Lengend is a hard chine boat and as a result it carves turns beautifully and predictibly without the tendency to skid like softer chine boats. It is the faster of the three. The hatches are the easiest the use and completely waterproof. The "initial" stability is a result of the rounded keel and is much less pronounced when the boat is loaded. If this initial stability issue is the only barrier to purchasing the Legend then I would recommend considering the Riot Aura which is an almost identical hull and deck shape with a vee keel that almost entirely eliminates this initial stability issue.
The Tempest is the most balanced of the three both above the waterline and below. It performs the best of the three in surf, current and wind. It is slower than the Legend but faster than the Explorer. The seat is by far the most comfortable. The hatches are the least waterproof, however and you must keep cargo in dry bags.
Keep in mind that these are my opinions resulting from many years of paddling primarily on the US west coast.
Good luck in your decision and happy paddling.

hanging draw

The key to the hanging draw is the placement of the blade at the pivot point of the boat. Usually this point is at the thigh just in front of the hip, although this varies from boat to boat. The way to find this point is to start by placing the blade in at the thigh perfectly neutral (no pitch on the blade so it slices cleanly through the water). Then open the blade slightly ( the leading edge or front slightly outward). If you start to turn (yaw)slide the blade towards the stern.

Wind Gauge

Here it Long Beach we keep it fairly simple yet incredibly accurate. I
have a rock on a string hanging outside the window. If the rock is
moving, it is windy, if it is wet then it is raining, if it is warm then
it is sunny and if I can't see it then it is foggy. What else do you need?

Short Tows

I see many people with short tows attached to their decks, usually just some line with a carabiner at each end. Some use them exclusively as a paddle park and others use them with contact tows or while rafting up. It recently dawned on me that without a quick release these could easily become a hazard, so I have taken to removing one of the carabiners and substituting it with a slip hitch to my deck line. The knot I use is a mooring hitch and while it easily releases with one hand, it binds well under pressure.
The following is from scoutXing

Knots - Mooring Hitch

An underhand loop toggled to the standing part with a bight made in the running end To securely tie off a rope so that it can be quickly untied, especially a small boat to a dock or piling. A secure knot that is easily tied or untied in wet or dry rope; when properly tied a non closing loop is formed, this allows the hitch to move up or down a piling as the water level changes. (1) Take a bight around an object. (2) Form an underhand loop in the running part. (3) Place the eye of the underhand loop over the standing part. (4) Pull a bight of the standing part through the eye of the underhand loop. (5) Pull the underhand loop tight around the bight. (6) Place the running part under the eye of the bight that was pulled through the underhand loop. (7) Pull a bight of the running part through the eye of the standing part bight. (8) Pull on the standing part to tighten the standing part bight around the running part bight.

The value of professional instruction

The primary benefit of professional instruction (ie instructor makes his/her living at it), is that to be successful the instructor has to be able to not only introduce the skills, but develop activities that address each individuals learning style. The more you teach skills the better you can become at identifying and correcting mistakes in technique before they become embedded. I have met paddlers with great personal paddling skills that had trouble sharing them because they did not have good teaching skills. Great instructors measure their success by their students success.

Forward Stroke

In regard to the the cadence and blade placement, consider the following. The blade has the most grip on the water when it is vertical and perpendicular to the boat. In a average stoke this distance is only about 18-24". The idea of spearing the fish, ie reaching forward on the catch places the blade less than vertical initially is far less than efficient but is neccessary when the boat is moving rapidly. This is more of a wind up than a catch. So if the most efficient stroke length is only 24" you can actually get more out of it with good torso rotation and straighter arms because as you rotate with straight arms the blade while still vertical and perpendicular moves diagonally turning the 24" of grip to say 30" or more before the slice. The key is a vertical paddle shaft. Cadence follows as the slice out sets up the following stroke on the other side. Try paddling slowly with nearly straight arms and see if this makes sense.

The Forward Stroke

I agree that "torso" rotation is a misnomer, but I think hip rotation might also be misleading. I consider the rotation to start from the feet. With the foot braces positioned correctly the paddler should have the ability to nearly straighten one leg at a time. The straightened leg then forces the hips to rotate and that in turn rotates the lower back. One little simple excercise that demonstrates this clearly is to place paddle behind back with arms over the shaft.Try to paddle. Now try the same thing without contact with the foot braces. Usually a fairly concrete demonstration that needs little explanation.

Paddle Float

If it is hard to keep your legs from falling asleep while paddling, try putting your partially inflated paddlefloat under your knees. I strap mine to the seat with 1" webbing and quick release buckle.