ARe we still allowed to talk about wearing a pfd?  Many thoughtful comments on the issue and I feel compelled to chime in.  A few years ago we went in the drink on the fattest part of Basswood lake.  It was a SW wind and we should not have tried to cross.  Anyway, here is one more reason to wear it. 

If you go over and you are not wearing your PFD, the guy in your canoe who IS wearing your PFD will have to risk his life to save yours.  My partner was sitting on his, and in my efforts to make sure he got it on and didn't drown during the process, we both lost our paddles.  We stayed with the canoe until it drifted us into a reef in the very center of the lake.  We sat there and watched the inevitable thunderstorm approach wondering how the hell to get to a safe place without a paddle.  So, we did the only thing we could think of and hopped in the canoe and let the wind push us swiftly back toward North bay where we mercifully found a lee and were able to hand paddle the boat to shore. 

Wearing your PFD will not only save your own life, but it also will not needlessly endanger the life of your partner.

mastertangler wrote on Mar 11^th, 2010 at 1:37pm:


Not sure if anyones really interested BUT I did say I would post the results about the inquiry concerning inflatables when I got the response back from the park.

They are in line with Transport Canada and have no special regulations. What ever is legal country wide is also acceptable in the park. There is one hitch however, it must be worn to be considered a PFD. Can't be just laying there.

I have an inflatable that I use when sailing.  It is small and compact, and is out of the way when handling lines, grinding, maneuvering on a pitching deck, etc.  If I get heaved into the drink there, I'll be clear of the boat in a flash, and free to yank away at the inflation tab (if conscious!).

But I like to foam pfd for canoeing for all the reasons listed above, and a few more.  I've had a couple of unexpected tumbles from a canoe.  In each case, it was the other guy's fault (of course!), and I was still clutching the canoe.  Actually, I was still "in" it as it rolled over or swamped!  Having it blow away wasn't a problem.

The added insulation is a plus, as is the butt pad for sitting on the rocks.  It makes a good napping pillow too.  Most of all, during the peak season I go swimming each day.  Having the pfd on I can swim with boots, feel secure, not get tired out, rinse out articles of clothing, etc.  I can't imagine how I could do all that with an inflatable riding up in my face!

WS

 I have a D-ring on my PFD. Next to my canoe seat, I have a short line, maybe 5-6", tied to seat and the tag end has a quick clip carabiner attached to it.

My idea is that if I go over and I'm out a good distance and the wind is pushing me/canoe from shore, I'll clip to D-ring and see if I can rudder to nearest shoreline?

Of course dependiong on distance and water temp, I might have to cut the canoe loose rather than be dragged into hypothermia
Sort of a paddlers version of Ahab and the White Whale

Akula wrote on Mar 16^th, 2010 at 1:23am:

I'll tie it to my ankle or wrap around my waist depending on my mood. I fell out once and had to chase it a bit.... Canoes could surely go b-bye pretty quickly in certain conditions and I need that thing. It's my ride man.

Suggesting the use of PFD's to canoeists / boaters / fishermen is like suggesting helmets to motorcycle riders... the ensuing debate is almost always spirited. But like bike helmets, seatbelts, and all other 'background' safety devices, chances are you'll never need to find out how good (or bad) they can be. Not wearing one is a calculated risk and a personal choice, and going either way doesn't guarantee any particular outcome.

For me, the redeeming quality is the fact that they do a pretty good job of keeping you afloat and upright all by themselves, while your mind is temporarily focused elsewhere in those critical first few seconds. That's it. After that, any number of things could still make you a statistic, but it's still one more pawn in front of Nature's queen(s), just in case she tries to cheat a little.

I just hope she doesn't try to cheat when I'm in my fishing boat, being the hypocritical PFD advocate that I am...

It's been interesting to read about people's experiences with the other types of PFD's on the market, as my only experience has been with the sub-$20 jackets that haven't changed much since the beginning of time. Perhaps this year I will upgrade my PFD along with my canoe... I think the self-inflating models are out of my price range but some of the others look more comfortable than what I've got now.

db, you've got the right idea with the painter line. A PFD and a ditch kit are good, but a way home is even better. Do you just tie it to your ankle or something?

solotripper wrote on Mar 11^th, 2010 at 11:48pm:


Obviously a typo error  It's a great vest and I water tested it with the pockets loaded with my ditch kit. It floated me just fine, all 195#. I'm confidant it would float a much heavier guy than me. The comfort factor takes away one of the major complaints about some PFD'S.

Not going to revive the whole PFD debate. But the seatbelt comment is relevant too the subject. Like seat belts, they only work if your wearing them. Worse case scenario, they'll help the authorities identify your body IF you make the decision not to wear one, hopefully you have the swimming skills to back it up? Anyone who has tried to put on a PFD once in the water, knows it's damn near impossible.
Since I travel alone, I choose to wear one anytime I'm on the water. I've learned over the years to hope for the best, be prepared for the worst So far it's kept me out of harms way.
 
 

DB..... "expect the unexpected".

Quote:

Yeah, as a solo paddler most of the time, you gotta do something really dumb to flip a canoe on flat water - there's no help - blame. Somehow I feel like I'm an expert 'cause I did it all on my own on my first or second spring trip.

Years later in august w/ my own boat, I went out (with the PFD ON) and tried to flip it in a moderate surf blowing into a sandy beach. I couldn't do it! Seriously, and I'd never paddle that boat empty any any other time. It's tippy when empty. My timing is bad though and with more experience I think I could use a wave to flip it. I could fall out and it would take on some water but I guess canoes vary wildly in what it takes to actually flip one. My nemesis was oil canned and I got out once I realized what was happening. Canoe design has come a long way.

My favorite time of year to do a trip is Spring and it's what I know best, when it freeken hurts to wash your hands in the lake. Wearing a PFD in spring would be a waste of time if paddling the same courses I now do in august. That's why I say they give a false sense of security. Hey, be careful out there! The livin is easy in August.

Yes, wearing one is good but consider it just another tool in the drawer. You wear your placebo and hooray that's grate but think of what happens after you pull that tool out of that drawer and actually use it. How fast can you swim in it.... Then what? How long can you bob around and wait for help to paddle up and rescue your butt.

Take away? Confidence is no excuse for complacency any more than wisdom trumps knowledge. Yeah, I'm old get confused all the time. Just think a few moves ahead so when mother nature says "Check" your next move is a given.

I don't always wear a PFD in my fishing boat, even though I should. I have one within reach, however, and I use another square foam float to sit on. Not that either would do me any good if I were by myself, and I happened to fall into the river or the notoriously choppy lake that I usually fish on.

When I'm in my canoe, however, I always have a PFD on and strapped up properly. I had my first canoe mishap when I was very young, and have had several since, though none were serious and none were recent. However, I've come to respect how little it takes to tip a canoe, especially a tandem, where you don't have control of the other person's body and reactions (another good reason for a solo). A few of those mishaps could have been worse than they turned out, had nobody been wearing PFD's.

Another point of concern is the flotation factor of my little Royalex canoe. When it fills with water, and I don't get out of it, it sinks like a rock. Filled  with gear on a cold northern lake, alone and miles from any sort of help, that could be a disaster. I grew up paddling my old man's freight-tanker Old Town, which would still float even when full of water and several giggling kids, so having my Royalex boat sink underneth me was a sobering experience. Especially since I conducted the test after my solo trip last spring, during which I rode her, overloaded, through some choppy spring-time water that in retrospect, I probably should have waited out and avoided.

I'm upgrading my tiny little Royalex Sandpiper this spring, so hopefully the slightly larger boat will have better flotation should the unthinkable happen. I haven't driven a kevlar, so I can't speak for those, but I encourage everyone to bring their canoe to the beach one day this summer, and get used to how it reacts to being rocked, tipped, and swamped. You might be surprised at the results.

It was mentioned earlier in this thread that being alone doesn't leave a person with a very big margin for error, and I couldn't agree more. Being solo anywhere changes all the rules. Even if one wears a PFD religiously, is always careful and vigilant on the trail, and carries out all tasks in camp with that certain level of perfection gained through experience, suffice to say, sh** still happens. Anything one can do to lower the level of risk, or to better prepare for the unexpected, is time and effort well spent.

Two friends of mine, who accidentally tipped their canoe while evening fishing in the BW in late fall, a few miles away and on a different lake from their camp, will tell you that wearing a PFD and having a ditch-kit on your person are two of the best things you can do "just in case." They didn't have either, and they owe their lives to their third travel partner, who happened to be an EMT. The EMT "had a feeling" that they had gone in the water as the darkness fell and they hadn't returned to camp, and through training, intuition, and luck, he was able to find them - shivering violently and trying to paddle back to camp with their hands - and do all the right things to get them warm and dry.

These guys were all experienced in wilderness. One of them taught at several ELC's, is currently a commercial pilot, and has summited several peaks in North America and greater Asia. The other is an avid climber, hunter, and paddler.

The moral of the story? Confidence is no excuse for complacency.