I had been waiting for a little warmer water to practice rolling and self-recovery with my rowcruiser, but i recently got an unexpected crash course in that and water safety. This last weekend offered perfect conditions for a Sunday morning cruise. When i got back to the landing, I had to wait for another boater to clear the dock area. I decided to stand and stretch my legs when suddenly i found myself in the water and my boat was upside down! with the assistance of the boater i had been waiting on, i was able to get the boat back to the dock and righted. A couple quick lessons to share:
1. Complacency can kill. no matter the conditions, wear a life jacket! Despite the glass smooth surface i was capable of flipping my boat after loosing my balance for an instant.
2. The 12v bilge pump made short work of getting water out of the boat, much faster than i could've done it with my bucket.
3. Somehow my sliding seat came off the rails. Luckily the water was clear and shallow enough that it was easily found and recovered. The end caps were still on and the tabs on the seat hadn't broken. I tried to replicate the seat coming off, but despite my best efforts of pulling and twisting; could not get it to come off again. I'm going to rig some sort of tether that won't interfere with use of the seat.
Stay safe out there!
