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Flipped canoe/kayak

Boomah21

Boomah21

Well-Known Member
SH Member
Joined
Oct 9, 2017
Messages
1,171
So today I decided to do a little float hunt with my dad (legal here) as he can’t get around as easy in some of the thick woods. Well unfortunately about half way thru the kayak flipped.

Was curious what you bring as a safety precaution in case you flip when headed out on the waterways while hunting or getting to spots.

Our saving grace was we both wore wools but temps were 31-33 and I can tell ya this the water was cold lol

Hopefully someone including myself can learn from this mistake that could or turned really pretty bad
 
Glad you’re ok! I’ve never flipped in the cold but I can imagine it being extremely rough, especially in those conditions. Here is a thread about securing gear in a canoe in case of a flip but some people also offered advice to be prepared for flip.

Ideas for securing gear in a canoe?

I have a 17 foot fiberglass canoe. Does anybody have any good ideas for securing gear during the ride and in case of a capsize? I do not want thousands of dollars of gear in the bottom of the river.... I am able to get really close to a couple of my spots by river, so I might like to be quiet...
saddlehunter.com
 
Yikes, I would imagine some emergency blankets and a couple ways of starting a fire would be top of the list. Along with having the correct flotation devices with you. That would be a scary situation to be in, especially with someone who is older, or younger, and may not be able to tough it out as long as someone in their prime. Glad you are okay

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Glad you're okay. Cold water combined with cold temps can be bad news. Add to that the fact that you're generally a long way from help along the float route and it can be a bit hazardous.

I've come close a couple of times in the canoe during muzzleloading season here in Michigan (December) with air temps in the 20's and water temps just above freezing. Both time taking water over the gunnel before managing to right the canoe and stay dry. I got to the point where I packed a dry set of clothes in a dry bag and stashed it under the rear seat of the canoe . . . just in case. We used to canoe hunt late rifle and muzzleloader season a lot but it got to be too popular and really concentrates folks right along the river bank so we haven't done it in 10 years or so. In reality if you're not leading the pack you're not seeing deer.

I remember one rifle hunt in November where the guy I was with hit one that we spent several hours chasing (downstream luckily) before it was finally finished by some other hunters. Well those several hours left us way upstream from the truck on the river well after dark. After a couple of close calls trying to navigate the river in the dark we decided caution was the better part of valor and we pulled up to camp for the night. While collecting firewood I happened upon some vehicle tracks and decided to hike it out while my buddy stayed behind with the gear and campfire. A three mile hike later in my neoprene waders I made it out to a road and found a house where the guy was nice enough to drive me back to our truck. This was before cell phones and needless to say both our wives were pretty PO'd when we finally got home 4 hours after we were expected.
 
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Like @boyne bowhunter does, I too carry a small dry bag on my kayak that has a dry change of clothes and a means of starting a fire. I hunt in the SE and don’t often encounter those Michigan temps, but one can get hypothermia pretty easy when they get wet. Fortunately I haven’t had to utilize my emergency flip kit yet. Glad yall were ok.
 
Dry clothes, if you can have a set vaccuum sealed in a dry bag even better.

Any essential gear that can be lost or destroyed if wet needs to be secured to your person or your canoe/yak in waterproof cases. Especially cell phone/gps, vehicle keys and fire starting materials. Preferably secured to your person as you might be too seperated from your canoe/yak to retrieve.

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How did you flip the thing to start with? Prevention is always better than the cure.
 
Never had to use it, but I've always had a "dry bag" with a full change of clothes and a towel. :)

Being preventative.... Do not lean over the edge of the kayak cockpit (where you're sitting)!!! Pretend there's a wall around the edge of the kayak, that you can reach past, but your upper body can never cross. This is the highest reason for tip overs. o_O Leaning past the edge changes the balance point.
The second highest reason for tip overs is improper getting in and/or getting out of the kayak or canoe. Boat docks and walls or walkways that are nearly the same height as the boat are not intended for exiting or entry of a kayak/canoe. Canoes are worse about this, but neither one are suited for it. A level bank/shoreline is the best. :cool:

There are 3 rules for fishing from a canoe:
#1 Keep your butt on the seat at all times.
#2 Watch which way you're swinging those fish hooks.
#3 Keep your butt on the seat at all times.
 
I've found that for getting onto a sit on top kayak, if you pull yourself onto the yak from the bow is the best way to get onto the yak. I do a lot of exits/climb-ons when I beaver trap out of my yak.
 
The owner of the North Face and the owner of Patagonia were kayaking and a storm rolled in and he capsized in a lake and died from exposure. Very sad story. Both of them were very seasoned outdoorsmen as well.

www.nytimes.com

Douglas Tompkins, 72, North Face Founder, Dies in Kayaking Accident (Published 2015)

A hitchhiking encounter led to marriage and a store in San Francisco. Mr. Tompkins also founded the Esprit clothing brand before becoming a wealthy conservationist in South America.
www.nytimes.com www.nytimes.com
 
When I was a kid I went to several summer camps. I learned and repeatedly practiced flipping and managing capsized boats. I can’t emphasize enough how valuable of a skill set this is. When your boat goes over knowing how to right the boat and gather up your gear can literally be a life saver. And if practiced in warm weather the learning process is extremely fun.
 
I don’t hunt from a canoe/kayak that often, but from our flat bottom boat weekly it seems. This threaded reminded me I need to put some emergency blankets in it. I was just out yesterday and the water temp was around 55*. It could get ugly quick if I took a tumble in it.
 
A small bottle of hand sanitizer gel will do wonders when trying to start a fire. It’s compact, and doesn’t go bad. Plus, you can use it to clean up after a kill if you need to. I’d just stick it in a dry bag and leave it though.

Back when we were to broke to own a buddy heater, we’d soak a whole roll of toilet paper in hand sanitizer, put it in a paint bucket, light it, and it would burn for a couple of hours. It was great for keeping your hands warm in the duck blind.


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I’ve duck hunted from a canoe for years and have probably taken some chances I shouldn’t have. Like everyone else said, make sure you have a dry bag with some clothing essentials and fire starting stuff. I never go out in anything but wool clothes. Cotton is a six letter word for death if you get soaked in cold temps. My first duck canoe was outfitted with homemade outriggers and you couldn’t tip it if you tried. They were low cost and worked amazing.
 
1st I'm glad your OK. 2nd I hope you use this as a learning experience. Could gone wrong in a hurry. I've also had some experiences that went bad suddenly. We got lucky. Personally I try to learn from them to prevent it happening again. Sadly some of my friends that were part of those experiences just blew it off. They no longer are in my life so it's probably for the better. IMO It says a lot about of person's character when a grown man doesn't learn from their or your mistakes.
My apologies because I'm about to hijack your thread but it's related to your story. Hopefully at least one person learns from it. Potentially it's a life saver. One of my bad ones is actually a flipped kayak in cold water story. I was extremely lucky! I was fishing in mid Oct in a river for Smallmouth Bass. I got my anchor stuck on a rock. Normally I would just paddle upstream and pull backwards and it would come free. This time that didn't work. I needed a lower angle. I cut my anchor trolly w/ my fishing clippers. No knife. (This is an important detail). I paddled further upstream to get a better angle and pulled. It worked. The anchor trolly allows you anchor in current w/ the bow or stern directly upstream. NEVER anchor cross current. I know this! So in order to keep fishing I tied it to the bow. This worked but I couldn't reach it to pull it back up. So I had the bright idea to tie it to the RAM ball mount in front of me to my right. This put me 3/4 to the current. Not ideal but I thought I'm experienced. I can make this work. So I keep fishing. Then I want to try this spot out in the main channel. I drop anchor and drift back. When I hit the end, I wasn't prepared for the sudden jerk. It got me off balance and over I went. I've been in cold water before so at 1st I was calm. I figured I would just untie the anchor. I was on the upstream side and the current had me pinned up against the kayak. I couldn't get slack in the line to untie it. I tried harder and harder and was getting tired. That's when my boots filled up. Now I realized I'm going to have to swim for it. 30 yds away. No big deal. I got this. Then I realized I don't got this! I swam harder and harder and I'm not really gaining. I'm getting really tired. My fishing glasses were on and I couldn't see. I reached up, pulled them down and just sank. My boots were pulling me down. RIGHT then I'm I realized I'm in a life or death moment and I'm about to die if I don't do something quick! I found another gear to my swimming and gave it EVERYTHING I had. I gained and realized I should be able to touch bottom. Not quite but I took a breath and sank and when my feet hit bottom I lunged up and forward. I did this twice and was able to walk to shore. Here I am on the bank, exhausted like I've NEVER been in my life, cold, my kayak is in the middle of the river and my truck is on the opposite side of the river. I sat there for a minute trying to recooperate and figure out how I am going to get myself out of this jam. Just then, Friends of mine were driving out from the boat launch road. They looked down and out and saw my kayak without me in it. They parked and came down to look. I hollered and that's when they saw me. They asked if I was OK and I told them NO. They immediately relaunched their boat and came to my rescue. They got me and my kayak. That's when they realized they forgot to put the plug in! The ramp was literally 200-300 yds away so they just floored it to the trailer. My stupid mistake almost cost them their boat and my life. It worked out but it could've gone wrong. Really wrong! Afterwards I looked back and asked myself what could I have done different. Here's what I came up with. Anyone of them would've probably changed the whole situation.

1st Wear a PFD. Duh! ( I Don't need one cause I'll just swim if I need to) Wrong!
2nd Use an easy release kayak anchor. They make them but they are spendy.
3rd Never kayak fish in a river alone.
4th NEVER anchor even partially cross current.
5th Don't drift back till the anchor line comes tight. Feather it out.
6th Keep your center of gravity as low as possible when in current. My kayak has 2 positions. I was in the high position for comfort. I was over center.
7th Carry a knife on board that's accessible. You never know when your going to need a knife!
8th NEVER under estimate current. It's deceiving how strong it is.
9th Don't wear boots while kayak fishing
10th. Too short of an anchor line. l most most forgot this one but It most likely wouldn't prevented the whole thing.
11th DON'T be over confident in your abilities! I was very over confident. I have hundreds of miles on the rivers and 45 years on the water.
 
That a good idea. Never heard of that being done before. I built a DIY model I saw online. 2" PVC filled with concrete and 2 pcs of heavy gauge Copper grounding wire up the middle ,out the top, then back down, out the bottom and bent into 4 J hooks. Works great. Just enough holding power but always pulls free. Re bend into shape and it's ready to go again.
 
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