Man Overboard!

I decided to put my PA to the test today practicing safety maneuvers. I started off by standing up and swaying my PA back and forth trying to flip it over. I actually couldn't flip it without grabbing on to one of the side handles. I would expect it would be possible to flip your PA if an H-bar is grabbed when trying to prevent a fall (warning if you are an H-bar user!!!!). I'm sure it might roll easier in big waves but it sure was assuring knowing how stable the PA is while standing in relatively calm water.

Next was testing out how tough it was to turn a PA back over once up-side-down. It isn't too terribly hard to get on top of a PA when up-side-down. If in very cold water it may be smart to get on top ASAP to figure out a strategy before getting too warn out and cold. I attached a rope to one of the side rails and slid (or threw) the rope over the top to the opposite side. I tied several knots in the rope for hand-holds. It was pretty easy to grab onto the rope as far up as I could over the top of the PA and pull the PA upright. Without the rope I tried several times but couldn't get my PA turned right-side-up.

Probably the biggest thing I learned from this outing was to attach a 6' rope to one of the side rails...you may not be able to turn your PA back over without it! I didn't have my fins attached and noticed on youtube where a couple guys grabbed on to fins to pull their PA's over. I'm not sure if that would screw up your fins but it may work if there is no rope attached.

One other thing to mention is that the front storage compartment got fairly full of water when upside-down. I'm not sure if there is a way to get a better seal or if this could pose a problem with sinking? You may want to keep anything that you want to remain dry inside your front storage compartment in dry bags.

Anyway, I thought it might be a good idea to post this as a safety reminder.