Kayak diving????

[Rob Bibber]

didn't know this was a thing but hey count me in! I have a tandem kayak big enough to fit my dive gear and I will be in Florida by late October. Would love to go on an outing!

I assume you don't actually dive FROM the kayak?

 

[kelemvor]

Sure you do. Just put a dive flag on the kayak and hold onto a rope tied to your kayak so you drag it behind you like you would a flag. When you're done, climb back onto the kayak and paddle home.

 

[Rob Bibber]

never actually tried climbing back into a kayak from the water.

 

[Rob Bibber]

Ok so I googled Kayak diving and I see that most use the sit on top kayaks. Mine is a sit-in variety but is a big, 14 ft tandem and is very wide. I call it my mini canoe LOL. Would that work?

 

[Damselfish]

Do you have a sit-in or sit-on-top style?

never mind, messages crossed.

 

[Schwob]

Ok so I googled Kayak diving and I see that most use the sit on top kayaks. Mine is a sit-in variety but is a big, 14 ft tandem and is very wide. I call it my mini canoe LOL. Would that work?

... ONLY if you can get in and out of it w/o swamping it with certainty in all conditions
... only if it has sufficiently and indestructible flotation so it will have some amount of freeboard even if swamped and you have a bailer tied to it so that after you get in you can - in waves - bail it out with you in it w/o getting more water over the top than you bail out.
... only if you practiced all that in good conditions first and then in worse and are 100% sure this is for you and you can handle it on your own even when hurt a bit...
... only if your boat AND you AND your practiced skill set in that boat are seaworthy...
... and you need to be comfortable getting your rig in and out of the boat too (you take it off in the water, clip it to the boat (make sure you do), climb on and then slide / lift your rig on.

I think a large SOT is a much better start, but when it comes to big bodies of water and my only way out, I am a chicken, I even add (internal) flotation to that... (large foam noodles on the entire inner perimeter...) - and i am only at the stage of practicing to be safe on big water - not actually diving off the yak just yet...

 

[Rob Bibber]

I have done whitewater in this kayak without a skirt and loaded with camping gear so I KNOW it has sufficient flotation and can handle BIG waves. Maybe a snorkeling trip is in order where I can practice exits close to shore...

 

[Schwob]

I have done whitewater in this kayak without a skirt and loaded with camping gear so I KNOW it has sufficient flotation and can handle BIG waves. Maybe a snorkeling trip is in order where I can practice exits close to shore...

Good to read.
What kayak is it?
Do find out so what it does (the boat) when full of water to the brim. How much free-board does it have? If little to none, how do you get the water out? Just saying cause "the shore" may end up quite further than anticipated (after drifting for a while) and certainly further than any "river bank" ever will be.

 

[Rob Bibber]

Good to read.
What kayak is it?
Do find out so what it does (the boat) when full of water to the brim. How much free-board does it have? If little to none, how do you get the water out? Just saying cause "the shore" may end up quite further than anticipated (after drifting for a while) and certainly further than any "river bank" ever will be.

Dagger Blackwater II 13.5 ft tandem
It has a sealed cargo compartment and extra foam in the bow.

 

[Damselfish]

I kayak a fair amount, ours are all sit-ins but I've used SOTs. Never dove from any, but diving from a sit-in kayak just doesn't sound like a good time to me.