JEM Watercraft

Finally tried out my homemade paddle float today and it works a treat. As a bonus I discovered by accident that it just fits in the front of the Lakers cockpit and makes a good foot brace!

It's basically just a thick piece of styrene foam (cut from an old broken surfboard) in a nylon bag. It looks larger than ones I've seen for sale and gives a lot of buoyancy so getting up on the deck was pretty easy. The hard part was moving forward into the cockpit without capsizing again. There is still some work to do before going on the sea but now it's a matter of technique rather than equipment.

Pics show how it goes together. Fairly simple really although I could do with a velcro strap to secure the bag onto the paddle a bit better. Found that a Japanese crosscut pull saw cuts styrene very neatly.







This one shows how it stores in the Laker and doubles as a footbrace.

Nice one Bob. I am not sure what technique you are using to get back into the cockpit but remember to keep as low as possible. Also be aware that in really rough conditons the paddle float may not be that effective, it's always good to have a practice in rough conditions if you have a mate standing by to help.

Thanks Simon,

Yes the 2 things to add to the degree of difficulty are rough water and fishing gear. I'm not sure which will present the biggest hazard but in any case my gear will always be tied down as much as possible and there will only ever be 1 rod rigged at a time.

By the way, I was having a look at your neck of the woods on Google Earth the other day and it looks like you have some nice paddling water. I passed through there with a caravan about 20 years ago but it was just an overnight at Old Bar and then on to Sydney. It's now on my "places I'd like to paddle but may never get to" list (which is nearly as long as my Laker ).

OnkaBob wrote: By the way, I was having a look at your neck of the woods on Google Earth the other day and it looks like you have some nice paddling water. I passed through there with a caravan about 20 years ago but it was just an overnight at Old Bar and then on to Sydney. It's now on my "places I'd like to paddle but may never get to" list (which is nearly as long as my Laker ).

It is a great spot to paddle and live that is for sure, good access to river and ocean. If you do ever make it up this way drop me a line and I will show you around the waterways.