At first glance the requirement does seem a bit odd. What keeps your yak afloat? the solid buoyancy stuffed into the hull or the hull itself. The cockpit may have scuppers, or if a pedal craft the Mirage is totally open so that is not what the Regs seeks to address.bonji007 wrote:Reading the regulations. Do you rely need a bulge pump on a kayak? Will a bucket not be enough?
What happens if a hatch leaks or is damaged and lost. Water can then enter the hull itself. I am thinking that the hull is what I want to be able to keep free of water. No electric bilge you can carry will pump enough water to beat waves washing over an open damaged hatch. You MAY be able to beat a leaky hatch for a while but try to pedal, hand pump a hull and steer.......5 maybe 10 minutes at best for most...
Ass covering at its squalid best, initiated by do gooders and wan*ers, and nuff, nuffs that like to sit on Committees pontificating.
If my PA is compromised the ONLY thing that is of ANY value to me at all is the buoyancy material I add myself. the silly bits of open foam that are supplied by Hobie are at best a token effort.
Having said that I have a hand bilge pump. I also carry a collapsible bucket (and spade) to make sandcastles on that palm covered beach I will wash up on!! because NO bucket of ANY RATIONAL CAPACITY can be put into any of the hatches on my Hobie.
When the Water Police come to check on me I have all that is required, and they will leave having done their duty, and I will get a warm and fuzzy feeling for being a good little mindless battler.
What a farce!!