Re: Optimum length for a leg leash

Here's my 2 cents worth...

I was taught by Dawid Mocke to remount with the paddle held across the top of the ski by clamping it to the footstrap with your hand. By the time you have remounted the paddle will be in exactly the right place to use.

If the cord goes under the boat then the best time to fix this is while you are still in the water and holding on to the footstrap. Pushing a paddle under your boat once mounted means you have to let go of the paddle and if you fall in you could lose both.

It has been mentioned in a couple of posts that remounting should be done slowly and deliberatly and practiced regularly. The more you rush it the more you are likely to botch it and it gets more difficult as fatigue sets in with each failed attempt.

A must read is this article www.surfski.info/content/view/421/155/

I use a coiled leash provided by Huki in the US. It has two velcro fasteners - a larger one at one end that I put around my leg just below my knee; the smaller goes around my footstrap.

I also use the Huki. You can just order it online and Jude will ship it to you.

Thanks for the advice Guys, I've just received the leg leahes from Jude who was helpful and prompt!

Two observations:

1) I spoke with Jude about his leg leash and he is of the opinion that, in big
water, if the leash is attached at the calf it can be yanked down over
the shin, over the heel, and off the leg if one takes a big enough hit.
His preference is a paddle leash for big water and the leg leash for
other uses.

But what's "big water"?..... Whatever it is, it sounds like something that I,
as a dilitante paddling in New Jersey (USA) will never see.


2) I find it difficult to manage the ski with any leash - leg or otherwise -
attached as close to amidships as the foot pedals/straps are.

There's a *lot* of area for the wind/whitewater to bear on and the hull
doesn't weathercock readily with a leash attached there.

Accordingly, I've added a taut grab line that runs from the bow eye back
along the center of the deck to the foot pedal assembly.

My leash is attached to a steel ring that is free to run fore-aft along
that line. There's a knot at each end of the line so that if one end
or the other comes free, the ring will still be confined to the line.

*Seems* to work so far. I had it out in 25 mph gusts and a fairly
strong tidal current over the weekend and the hull weathercocks nicely
into the wind, yet there is no excess line to become entangled in.

Maybe greater minds than mine would care to comment:
tinyurl.com/6k7744

One comment on the Huki paddle leash: It is not very strong. I fell out in some ~10 ft swell. The boat stuck sideways on the wave and began to pull me through the water. I held on tightly to my paddle, but the leash broke. Needless to say, the boat was quickly carried away by the wind/waves--leaving me to a ~1/2 mile swim to shore.

I think that some kind of secondary system to allow the boat to weathercock is potentially a good idea.

1) I spoke with Jude about his leg leash and he is of the opinion that, in big
water, if the leash is attached at the calf it can be yanked down over
the shin, over the heel, and off the leg if one takes a big enough hit.
His preference is a paddle leash for big water and the leg leash for
other uses.

Pete, whether or not this is an accurate reflection of his opinion, I don't care to hazard a guess. But, if the pull on the leash is strong enough that it will pull it off your ankle, knee, calf, I don't think I'd be able to hold on to the paddle in that case. So a paddle leash would be worse if it's big and not shore break in my opinion.

I only trust a boat to body leash - mine is an epic and fits just above my knee and I trust it. Another good option would be the boat to pfd - some NW paddlers use that.

Weather cocking the ski is a great idea. But that would mean making a good attachment point in the bow or stern - or on the rudder cables by the rudder. When I did the latter setup a couple of years ago, my bungee'd pfd got in the way of the leash from the rudder area to me, so I went back to the standard knee to footboard attachment.

I have found that a a coiled boogie board leash attached to a footstrap and a waist strap made of nylon webbing with an industrial strength snap lock works well. If you fall out it is easier to mount because the strap is around your waist rather than down around your ankle or knee and therefore doesn't have to be that long. The coiled cord sits in the middle of your legs and doesn't get in the way when you paddle. The best attachment place so far on skis for leashes has to be on the Think range. Both the Evo and Legend have a specific attachment point for leashes just over the arch of the the seat well. The waist strap/boogie board leash combo works really well on these skis and sits nicely out of the way between your legs on the seatwell.

Regarding attaching a leash to your waist, I would be concerned about this because of the case where the boat gets caught in a big wave (while you are swimming) and then pulls you through the water. If my leash is going to yank on me really hard, I would rather have it yank on a leg rather than my waist.

...but the leash broke.

Where did it part?
Spiral cord?
One of the twist joints at either end?
Where the flared-out rubber is sewn into the cuff?