Quote:
Originally Posted by fatlazyless
I scored a 96 on the 50-question test at the end of the boater course given by MP Officer Dave Learned in Ashland back in 2000, so I just forgot what's what with the pfd law in a row-canoe or a kayak.
Pfd's will ride way up on a person, up around their head, because a pfd is not tight around the arms, while a swimmer's belt is much better for swimming around in the water.
What to do? Keep a pfd in the kayak to comply with the law, but wear a swimmer's belt to be safe and not obstruct arm movement when paddling or rowing.
Is a throwable floatation device like the square cushion with the two long handles required on board a kayak or canoe or sailboat as well as a pfd?
Swimmer's belts are good for swimming! Pfd's are almost good for nothing because they make the wearer very awkward once in the water! If everyone on board the H.M.S. Titantic, back in 1912, had been wearing a swimmer's belt as opposed to a pfd, they could have easily swarm all the way to Saint John, New Brunswick, and nobody would have drowned! 1500 people drowned thanks to those awkward pfd's, and today's modern style pfd's are still very awkward in the water today!
|
You have GOT to be kidding. I don't even know where to start on this one.
It is a fact that PFDs are safer than swimmers belts, period. They do NOT obstruct arm movement when paddling. I know this because I was wearing my PFD just yesterday when out in my canoe. And yes they can be awkward to swim in, but that is not what they are designed for. They are designed to keep your head out of the water.
And as far as the Titanic goes, I think that PFD technology might have changed a bit in the last 100 years. I am thinking that the PFD I wore yesterday might be a bit safer than the "PFDs" that the people on the Titanic wore. Oh, and if they autopsied 1500 people when the Titanic sank, I would be willing to bet that most of the people died of hypothermia, not from drowning.
Of course we all know that a PFD will not prevent hypothemia, but it will keep you afloat.