setlab wrote:
Just thinking worse case scenario when out on the water, if something should happen and the hull completely fills with water will a PA sink? Or are their built in floats inside the hull to keep it somewhat afloat? I've read some guys put those long pool floats in their PA's just incase.
I started a post like this back on 7-7-13. Here is what I found when I tried to sink my PA-12 in my pool
This is a cut and paste from my post. I hope it help.
I've been searching the forum to find out if the PA-12 will sink if completely full of water. I wanted to know if a catastrophic happened while on the water if staying with the kayak would be worthwhile. I couldn't find the answer, so today I put PA-12 (2012 model) to the test. I put it in my pool, opened all of the hatches, pulled the drain plugs and did everything possible to sink her. I wasn't able to sink her. I forced all of the air out of the hull and climbed on top of her and she still wouldn't go down and I weigh 275#. It's probably because of all the foam pieces inside the hull.
So now I know that if I do happen to capsize and fill the hull with water, I can stay with my kayak and use it for floatation along with my PFD, until help came or I made the decision to swim to shore.
A least now I know what I will be dealing with in the worst case scenario, Plus I now know there will be the possibility of recovering my PA after the event.
Good stuff, thanks for sharing. When you were on top of your swamped PA how far was it out of the waterline?