Kayak diving in cold waters?

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TOmi

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Location
Finland
# of dives
500 - 999
Just wondering is anyone doing kayak diving in cold waters, with drysuit, dry cloves and other arctic stuff? Any tips. I'm quite experienced kayaker but newer tried to dive from it.

Br. TOmi
 
Do it all the time here N.California. It's a great way to hit the sites that the boats get out to without a long ride around the point. The stability characteristics of the kayak matter a bit, so not practical with all yaks. Getting everything rigged right take some effort but once you are setup it it's a great way to dive, and cut across the kelp.
 
Are you guys using sigle, double or side mount setup? And do you use weight belt? Just trying to find out what is best way to put gears to kayak and how to secure all in case of falling down.
And what kind of anchor you have? Any pics?
 
Lost track of this thread. I personally use a ocean kayak scrabler 11. My buddy uses an xt and there have been others on the mix.
I use integrated one the other guys uses a weight belt.
So far we all dive singles and nobody has been brave enough to try and change tanks on the water... Though in theory it's doable. Need bigger kayak but doubles I think are possible if placed right.
I mainly use a kelp clip witch works brilliantly.
I know some other folks who use a anchor but I gave not tried that. I read a book about all this though and anchor theory seems sound :), we are just chickens. Plus no shortage of kelp.
Everybody does the rigging a but different but get a tank well start or two, a couple leashes a handful of eyeholes and rivets and go to town. I steps my tank down then have a bag in front with all my misc stuff that is clipped off and has some cords over it. I clip my weights off by my feat to spread the weight around the yak more evenly.


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Are you guys using sigle, double or side mount setup? And do you use weight belt? Just trying to find out what is best way to put gears to kayak and how to secure all in case of falling down.
And what kind of anchor you have? Any pics?

I use a Malibu 2 kayak that can be paddled by either 1 or 2 people. Malibu Two | Ocean Kayak I choose this kayak because of the amount of weight it is rated to carry and because it is wider, making it more stable when getting on & off. I dive a single tank or leave the tank in the kayak and dive surface supplied off a 50' umbilical I made for this purpose.

IMG_0545.jpgIMG_1250.jpg

I use a weight belt making it easier to place the weight in the best location on the kayak. In general a kayak is able to handle better if more of the weight is placed in the stern, that is why they are made with the tank wells in the stern. Too much weight in the stern though is not good so if you use integrated weights you would then need to remove them and secure each one separately, usually somewhere in the middle of the kayak. As space is limited on a kayak it is much easier, faster and more secure to do this with a weight belt. The weight belt can be removed and secured in the kayak while you are still in the water reducing the amount of movement you need to do while in the kayak with as yet unsecured gear. You want to develop a routine when adding or removing gear so that only one piece of gear is unsecured at a time. Other then the tank and weight belt all other gear goes in a kit bag that is semi waterproof and will float for a long time even when fully loaded.

KitBag.jpg

This way there are only three major items that need to be secured, the tank in the stern, weight belt in the middle and gear bag in the bow. There are usually lots of pre-existing attachment points in these areas on most kayaks so I have never needed to add more. I use the kayak for shallow water shore diving so I either leave it on the beach or tow the kayak along with me as I dive rather then using an anchor.

When kayak diving in the winter I will use a front zip laminate suit so I can control the venting of the suit to avoid getting over heated while paddling and wear wetsuit gloves to paddle even if I will be diving with drysuit gloves later.
 
Yeah that looks line a good choice, I'm around 200 pounds 6'2 and have been thinking about getting one with more lift (with gear my 11 rides pretty low. Though I was thinking along lines of the fish n dive.


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I am about the same size as you and find it to be a good fit but there are other manufactures of two man kayaks that can be paddled by one person. The key is the amount of weight it is rated for and how wide it is.
 

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