Thread: "If you haven't, you will".....well, I DID!

Most open water kayaks need some sort of V in the front and back from tracking, a yak like the Coosa (a river kayak) is not as efficient as the Cuda(open water), notice the difference in the nose and stern. My OR Synergy has both V's stern/aft and channels that run bow to stern that I have had a stump stuck in before so the only way off was forward or reverse.

How would you rate this kayak bottom for stump jumpin'? Just curious......

RRR;
I would guess you would/could maybe, rock the yak side to side and get free, but that will require some good balance to keep from rolling over into the water. Or maybe if there were other stumps close enough to use as a push off, you could lean sideways a bit and push forward or backwards depending on where the yak hit the stump. A sit on top seems like it has less opportunity to get stuck due to hull design (smooth, no scuppers, and a V shape hull) but if you hit one dead on, or any type of jagged edge where the bottom of the V hull gets wedged, its almost a trial and error to free of the stump. I'm thinking if you hit a stump and it has a point to it small enough to fit inside a scupper hole, (think stake out pole thru the scupper) you gots yourself a bigger problem.

The WS Ride is designed to stand in, so you could try and stand up and rock it free, but I have not practiced that move yet, so it would definately be a whole new experience for me in that department. RRR, have you stood in yours yet??

Stumps just below the surface are the problematic ones for me. Those low enough to be out of sight, especially in stained water, but high enough to catch the bottom of the Kayak. I'm not versed in boat hull lingo, but I believe someone called the 2 lowest points of the bottom of my concave-shaped hull "chines".

I figure I either ran a chine atop a stump, which tilted me to one side, or high centered on a smaller stump that I simply couldn't balance on. Either way, same end results. My solution to that was to just paddle as slowly as I could, which takes forever to get me to deep water and back to camp here. The alternative would be to simply stay off the water in the Kayak. I have to admit, the 1st takes-away a bit of the enjoyment of fishing here, but the 2nd removes it all.

I have a mind that constantly wanders, and was thinking about a deflector of sorts on the bow. Take something which closely resembles a rudder, but without steering ability. Make it to raise/lower from the seat (on a simple pivot point, and wouldn't even need a "lock" down, since it would be constantly pushed downward by the forward motion of the Kayak), and extend to a point maybe just below the lowest point of the hull (be it chines, or whatever). To the bottom of the "rudder", add a thin wedge-shaped ("V"), but in a horizontal position to deflect the bow from stumps and prevent them from getting under the hull, thus elimination the possibility of them causing you to go over. Understood the added drag, but for me that would outweigh the effects of running atop a stump (again). Would it work?

Originally Posted by RetiredRR

How would you rate this kayak bottom for stump jumpin'? Just curious......

Very poor. Strong full length keel makes it easy to high-center, then quickly fall/slide off. The fairly deep recessed areas could catch/hang on stumps. It also does not look like the boat has much rocker, making it harder to rock forward/backwards off the stump too.

Contrast to my Coosa hull where the grooves are rounded edged and narrow, the chines are rounded, the hull has lots of bow to stern rocker (picture doesn't show that very well though), keel is wide also note that the scuppers are recessed (which helps with smaller "sticks"); a canoe type hull would be even better:

I'd prefer the top kayak over the coosa design for open water. That V all the way down indicates a very well tracking boat.

Seriously guys, how oft do you expect to have high-center issues?

That would be so far down the list of considerations when making my decision on what boat to buy or feel safe in.

NM;

what cha gonna do when the "deflector" gets stuck in/on a jagged stump?

KCB;
Guess it really depends on the lake you on the most, Reelfoot would be one where a smooth V shaped hull could be an advantage, Tellico Lake is my home lake, and any style would be ok, not that much structure unless you up close to snake country. Then its mainly blowdowns and such.

So far, I've been able to slide off the stumps I've encountered without issues. The WS Ride 135 is still my kayak of choice even though I seriously considered
the Coosa prior to purchase. I've fished open/stumpy/lily pad/reeds and hung up a couple of times but was able to push or pull myself off the problem.
The method or means is what it comes down to when getting yourself unhung from a hangup. I've gone so far as to position myself in the very front of the
kayak to allow the back of the kayak to float free from stumps. Whatever it takes is what I'll try, at least once. I've even taken my anchor rope and tossed
it to another stump and pulled myself free. Calf rope is not in my vocabulary...........yet. Yeah jimp: I use the strap I attached to a stainless eye mounted
forward of my ff to assist myself up from my patio chair. I saw it on the Kayak Cuda and copied it for myself and my Ride. It does stabliize the rise from the
chair.