Float Tube Safety
- Thread starter jaredoconnor
- Start date
I agree with this. I fish all winter in my fat cat and/or stealth pro with no fear. Meanwhile my canoe is never going to hit the water in the winter and I would be worried in a kayak as well. I think I would even be more likely to fall out of a pram than an inflatable… as long as there is a safe place to get in and out of the water.
I'm guessing you mean "wear your PFD", having it handy if by chance you do exit a boat inadvertently and the the PFD is hanging on the boat seat (I see this from time to time), handy might be too unhandy.........
I think my friend @PhilR told me something to the effect of, "what the fuck are you doing?" (that's how I heard it anyway) once when we were fishing for tigers during colder temps and I had my vest strapped to the boat. Phil, I'm sure you don't remember that, but I certainly do. Been wearing it ever since....even during summer where I "think" it's safer to go for a potential swim...
Glad to hear it. The gasp reflex is no joke.
I’ll be ready for tigers when I get back.
Rolled my fishing kayak a few years back....the water wasn't all that cold, but I was sure glad I ALWAYS wear my PFD....which allowed me the luxury of focusing on retrieving all my gear rather than trying to stay afloat.
10-15 yrs ago I pulled someone out of Pass when he flipped his pram. The unworn PFD was right there and he didn't have the wherewithal to grab for it in the 42° water. Instead he almost took me with him to the bottom. At around 30 seconds he could no longer move. In less than a minute he said he was passing out. We made it to the ranger's house but not by much. Also worth noting, the only other person near him on the water was in her second trimester. She told me she would have tried to save him.
My good friend for the past 40+ years hangs his from his boat seat, I need to encourage him to WEAR IT! I think @PhilR's "gasp reflex" could also mean sucking in water rather than air......... thanks for what you did to save that mans life.
Yes, wear it. Through the years, I am one who has not always worn mine. Especially during the warmer months and on smaller bodies of water. It’s not smart thing to do for all the reasons already stated. I dumped in my kayak last March without mine on and it was a chilly 40 yard swim to shore dragging my overturned boat behind me and a chilly paddle back to the launch. Luckily it’s a small 15 acre lake but still it was dumb not wearing one. Other things like a medical incident could also incapacitate some on the water as well and wearing a PFD if you end up in the water in that type of situation gives you a fighting chance.
This happened at a mountain lake in NE Oregon last summer. I was out of the water at the time but others were still fishing. The chopper came to the lake three times to refill. It was interesting to watch.
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When around water you should be alert an wear a PFD even wet wading, I've had some bad experience w/o a boat too. On the Skagit waded out in the middle which was just above my knees while I was busy trying to get my fly to the other side didn't notice that the current had push me toward deeper water had to swim back to where I got in at on the bank.
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Wayne Kohan
Life of the Party
I wish I would have taken a pic of the beaver that chased me more than 1/4 mile off the lake one late evening. But I was too busy trying to pass Rich!
One of my coworkers flipped his little fishing boat (said he lost control of its outboard) late in the fall on a big lake. Nobody was around to even see the incident. Naturally, he wasn't wearing his PFD and he said the shock of hitting the cold water was almost completely disabling. He said the idea of looking for and putting on his PFD was completely out of the question.
He wasn't very far offshore (less than 100') but it was well over his head, and as he struggled to head to safety he felt his arms and legs becoming numb and inoperable. About that time he managed to get where he could feel bottom, but didn't think he would make it because he was losing consciousness, having trouble keeping his legs under him, and said he actually had the thought that this wouldn't be such a bad way to die.
Once ashore he was barely able to make it to a road for help as hypothermia set in, and a passing motorist gave assistance. He is absolutely certain had he been further out in the lake it would have been the end.
He wasn't very far offshore (less than 100') but it was well over his head, and as he struggled to head to safety he felt his arms and legs becoming numb and inoperable. About that time he managed to get where he could feel bottom, but didn't think he would make it because he was losing consciousness, having trouble keeping his legs under him, and said he actually had the thought that this wouldn't be such a bad way to die.
Once ashore he was barely able to make it to a road for help as hypothermia set in, and a passing motorist gave assistance. He is absolutely certain had he been further out in the lake it would have been the end.
I once had some aggressive otter parents hissing at me in my kayak....the thought of my legs dangling below a float tube wouldn't have been pleasant. As it was I thought they might join me in the cockpit and I quickly headed to the other end of the lake. They're quite large and have plenty of nasty pointed teeth.
Great to get have these discussions, even if just one more person starts wearing their PFD. The Canadian drowning statistics (my highlights) would seem to indicate that we all aren't necessarily getting smarter with age - even if we all like to claim we are!
Ken
Ken
That’s exactly what I was talking about. You hit the cold water and involuntarily gasp. If your face is under water, you’re choking. The other issue is that you lose muscle control long before hypothermia takes you, leading to drowning. Wear the damn things!
And you guys advocating for the float tube roll to pee, the majority of drowning fatalities among boaters are found with unzipped flies.
Stages 1 and 2 of Cold Water Immersion
www.boat-ed.com
Absolutely this
I've been float tubing for 35+ years and have only seen two guys flip their float tubes, both occurring at Dry Falls Lake. One guy was trying to untangle his fly line that had wrapped around his fins, and he flipped over forwards. Fortunately, he was near shore and was able to extricated himself without drowning. The other guy was a friend of mine who was out in the middle of the lake releasing a fish he had just landed and his fly rod fell overboard. He reached over to grab it and flipped over sideways. Fortunately, he was able to extricate himself quickly and swim to shore, losing just his anchor and cellphone.
Several years back I was up at Big O.K. Lake in BC, and I saw all these emergency vehicles on the northeast shore, so I went over to investigate. Turns out another fishermen (fishing from a pram) had drowned, apparently by falling overboard and getting tangled up in his fly line.
I always wear a PFD, no matter what and so far so good. When someone goes fishing with me, I always tell them to wear a PFD, but that if they are going to drown themselves, please have the courtesy to do so at the end of the day so as to not interfere with the good fishing.
Good for that guy that you were close by and saved him! If he was in a small white pram, I think I know who it is, as I heard the story from his brother who is a friend of mine.
I remember he was attending a wedding from out of state. He was in a borrowed pram fishing with a couple who were local. She was on a pontoon, the husband happened to be at the launch at the other end of Pass so out of sight. We were out from the orchard, kind of on the fringe of that bay.
