By Bob Currie, Recreational Boating Safety Specialist
U. S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Station Galveston Flotilla
This column’s title is a play on the occupation of Hank Hill, the title character in the cartoon series for adults, King of the Hill. Th setting is in the fictional town of Arlen, Texas, and revolves around Hank, his wife Peggy, his son Bobby, his neighbors, and a few others. Hank works as a salesman of propane and propane accessories (barbeque pits, etc.). For this article I am giving Hank a new job as a salesman in a paddlecraft sports shop, selling kayaks and kayak accessories. If you are purchasing a kayak, canoe, or paddleboard for yourself or a loved one, please drop by and talk to Hank Hill about some of the following kayak accessories, especially the ones designed to save a life.

Recommended Equipment
Although most of the items listed below are recommended for any time of year, many of the items become more important when the weather and water temperatures are cooler.

1. Life jacket designed for paddlecraft use (required by regulation)
2. Whistle (required by regulation; best if attached to your life jacket)
3. Marine VHF/FM radio with Digital Selective Calling
4. Hat (and a spare hat in your dry bag; wind, you know…)
5. Sunglasses (also have a spare pair in your drybag; wind again!)
6. Sunscreen (you can burn even in winter)
7. Proper footwear (flip flops won’t cut it; think oyster shell bottom)
8. Knife (a fixed blade is better than a folding blade in emergencies)
9. Wet suit or dry suit with insulation for cold water operation
10. Highly visible clothing
11. Waterproof flashlight
12. Spare paddle (I had a paddle blade break off while I was about 2 miles offshore)
13. Paddle tether (most paddles don’t float)
14. Drinking water and snacks such as protein bars
15. Self-rescue devices (tow rope, throw-bag with line, duct tape)
16. Dry bag with spare clothing and towel and other important equipment
17. Compass
18. First aid kit (rope burns, lacerations)
19. Kayaking partner in a separate kayak (essential!)
20. Anchor with chain rode and anchor line appropriate for the depth
21. Flotation for sit inside kayaks (they sink without it)
22. Visual distress signals (day and night)

Wear It or Stow It
The list above isn’t exhaustive. You may need other equipment, especially if Hank knows his kayak accessories as well as he knows his propane accessories. The first eleven items on the list above should be worn. There are some great life jackets for paddlers, and most of them have either pockets or attachment points for equipment such as a knife, whistle, and radio. You are going to wear shoes anyway; just get the right kind for paddling. The wetsuit/dry suit recommendation is only for very experienced paddlers. As far as clothing, dress for immersion. Blue jeans don’t keep you warm. Just as with any other sport, there is a great variety of sport-specific clothing out there, whether you plan to cruise, fish, or shoot the rapids. Cotton is the worst fabric to wear on the water, especially cool or cold water. Cotton has no thermal insulating value at all. You might as well kayak naked. Instead, check out the clothing designed for paddlers. For cool water a float coat will keep your upper body warm. A float coat is both a life jacket and a jacket designed to keep you warm. An immersion suit is a full body suit for even cooler water and will keep you warmer than a float coat.

Just What Are the Dangers
Sometimes it helps to think in terms of the actual dangers in order to prepare us for an emergency situation. The list below is not exhaustive, and it is not in any order of likelihood or severity of risk. It is simply some of the things you are up against. Contemplate this list, or make your own, every time you go out, and that alone will help you prepare mentally for an emergency.

1. Capsizing (well, this IS the number one risk on any boating safety list)
2. Getting run over by a powerboat or ship (higher risk than you would imagine)
3. Getting sucked out to sea by rip currents and high wind
4. Sinking (check your kayak for holes or leaks; watch for submerged objects)
5. Exposure (wind, heat, cold; we had an exposure death in 2017)
6. Losing or breaking a paddle (use a tether and have a spare paddle)
7. Getting lost (nighttime, fog, getting too far out to see land)
8. Injuries (sun/wind burn, lacerations, rope burns, venomous sea life injuries)
9. Heart attack (or any other life threatening illness due to a pre-existing condition)
10. Dehydration (it happens even in cold weather)

Don’t Kayak Alone
You should never launch your kayak without a partner. Your kayaking partners should have their own kayaks as well. I have a kayak designed for either solo or two person operation. Wintertime is not the time to double up in a kayak. That kayaking partner is of no help to you if they are in the boat with you when it capsizes. Also, your kayak partner is of no use if they are a mile away. That’s the same as kayaking alone. You should stay within a few paddle strokes of your kayaking partner.

Carry an Anchor
Whenever a ship or barge push reports their arrival to Houston Traffic, also known as Vessel Traffic Services, Houston Traffic tells them what is moving in the channel, where they are going, and any restrictions on movements. They also always report the flow. The flow is the speed of the current in the ship channel. The flow is often as high as three knots (3.45 mph). Not too many kayakers could overcome such a flow. Such a flow can sweep you out to sea unless you have a means of anchoring your kayak. You especially don’t want to be swept into the main part of the ship channel or ICW. I highly recommend you carry an anchor and enough line to hold you in place should you not be able to defeat a strong current. A Danforth-type anchor with a minimum of 5 feet of chain and 50 feet of line should hold you in place so you can get help and not end up inside the main channel with a 600-foot loaded tanker bearing down on you.

Summary
Yes, you can get out there on the water with just a paddle and the legally required whistle and life jacket, and you may be just fine, but if you want to plan to survive the average paddle on the water then you need a little more of the equipment listed above. If you are an inexperienced paddler, take a course. They are out there. There are online courses for paddlers just as there are for powerboaters.

For more information on boating safety, please visit the Official Website of the U.S. Coast Guard’s Boating Safety Division at www.uscgboating.org. SAFE BOATING!

[BC: Dec-20-2022]