07-19-2003, 02:08 AM
[cool]Flipping your tube over is a natural concern...ONLY IF YOU HAVE NOT SPENT A LOT OF TIME ON THE WATER IN ONE. I have been "flotation fishing" for over 40 years, and I have never seen or heard (from reliable witnesses) of anyone flipping a tube.
I have seen some folks go butt over teakettle while launching or beaching. This usually happens when you are tired, not paying attention, don't have your craft properly postiioned, have rough or muddy bottom, etc. If you pay attention to the business at hand, and don't take any uneccessary risks (got that, Joe?), you are infinitely safer in a tube than a canoe...and even in a lot of small boats.
On the outside chance you poked a hole in your air chamber and were losing air faster than you could make it to shore, you may have a potential problem...if you were not wearing a waist belt and/or a PFD. As Joe mentioned, a waist belt, such as those worn by wading fly fishermen, can help keep your "engine room" from getting flooded. The flotation will keep you on top of the water, even if you do get some water in your waders. At the very worst, you will only have a slightly less than neutral bouyancy. And, with fins, you can power yourself along well even while dragging a semi deflated tube.
I know. I have tested my theories. I have tried unsuccessfully to execute a backflip while seated normally in a float tube. Now, if you want to work yourself up into a sitting position on the back of the craft, then the center of gravity is wacko and you deserve what you get. I saw a fishing buddy prove this point one time while trying to fill a plastic bag with "bilge water" while a long distance offshore, rather than letting go in his waders. An ill-timed boat wake ([url "mailto:#$@*%"]#$@*%[/url] water skiers) dumped him backwards as slick as can be. The rest of us scrambled to hold up scoring signs for the dive, but he wasn't happy with his first place position.
I have also purposely let the air out of my tube, and managed to get everything back to shore. I just leaned over backward and threw a roostertail all the way in. All that without extra air chambers or a PFD.
So, your craft are inherently safe. But, it is wise to be prepared for any possible disaster. It is better to have a PFD and not need it, than to need it and not have it. There are some that are fishing vests with builtin flotation. Others are self inflating, with a mouthpiece with which to air it up. Still others have small CO2 cylinders, which inflate your vest at the push of a button...or pull of a pin.
So, having a rollover accident is the least of your worries. Now, if we could only do something about the 10 to 1 factor. That is that whatever liquid intake you send down within the previous 24 hours of a float tube trip, becomes ten times the volume once you are out on the water. Never could figure that one out.
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I have seen some folks go butt over teakettle while launching or beaching. This usually happens when you are tired, not paying attention, don't have your craft properly postiioned, have rough or muddy bottom, etc. If you pay attention to the business at hand, and don't take any uneccessary risks (got that, Joe?), you are infinitely safer in a tube than a canoe...and even in a lot of small boats.
On the outside chance you poked a hole in your air chamber and were losing air faster than you could make it to shore, you may have a potential problem...if you were not wearing a waist belt and/or a PFD. As Joe mentioned, a waist belt, such as those worn by wading fly fishermen, can help keep your "engine room" from getting flooded. The flotation will keep you on top of the water, even if you do get some water in your waders. At the very worst, you will only have a slightly less than neutral bouyancy. And, with fins, you can power yourself along well even while dragging a semi deflated tube.
I know. I have tested my theories. I have tried unsuccessfully to execute a backflip while seated normally in a float tube. Now, if you want to work yourself up into a sitting position on the back of the craft, then the center of gravity is wacko and you deserve what you get. I saw a fishing buddy prove this point one time while trying to fill a plastic bag with "bilge water" while a long distance offshore, rather than letting go in his waders. An ill-timed boat wake ([url "mailto:#$@*%"]#$@*%[/url] water skiers) dumped him backwards as slick as can be. The rest of us scrambled to hold up scoring signs for the dive, but he wasn't happy with his first place position.
I have also purposely let the air out of my tube, and managed to get everything back to shore. I just leaned over backward and threw a roostertail all the way in. All that without extra air chambers or a PFD.
So, your craft are inherently safe. But, it is wise to be prepared for any possible disaster. It is better to have a PFD and not need it, than to need it and not have it. There are some that are fishing vests with builtin flotation. Others are self inflating, with a mouthpiece with which to air it up. Still others have small CO2 cylinders, which inflate your vest at the push of a button...or pull of a pin.
So, having a rollover accident is the least of your worries. Now, if we could only do something about the 10 to 1 factor. That is that whatever liquid intake you send down within the previous 24 hours of a float tube trip, becomes ten times the volume once you are out on the water. Never could figure that one out.
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