Flotation in an SOT Kayak?

Just sharing a few photos of my internal flotation.
Great topic

Are you a kayaker or a Puget Sound Ferry?  That's a lot of flotation.

 

I think the ferry system could take a few pointers from this thread

Holly Molly
I think you spent more on swim noodles than I did on my outback. 

 

Imma head me down to Home Depot and get like 10 cases of that expanding foam stuff and just flood the hull. I figure 120 cans should do 'er.

Very artistic too!

Perhaps this is the rubix cubic of floatation?  However, if we ever fish together and are caught by a big storm, I'll be the shadow next to you.

OK guys ....
Number one, your kayak will float long after it is impossible to keep it stable with you on top.
Number two, a bilge pump will work if you have access directly in front of your seat all the way up to the time the kayak looses stability.
Here is some real world first hand data for you.
About 4 years ago I had a Hobie Adventure with the dreaded drive well leak. I patched it and it got worse on and off for about a year. My standard for when I needed to repatch was when I had to pump more than 4 times a day.
The day the leak finally decided to become a big deal I was out at Neah Bay. Short on time I decided to make a run for the beach rather than stopping and pumping for twenty minutes.  Bad idea!
Then the boat was at the edge of stability I was pedaling and bracing with my paddle. I looked back and the entire back of my kayak behind the seat was under water. I was about 100 yards from shore and could barely stay on top of the boat. I decided to jump out of the boat in hopes that the boat would level out and I could swim it to shore .... second bad idea!
As soon as I jumped out the boat rolled and with all my gear and the water in the hull it was very slow going. I'm pretty sure it was just the on shore breeze and incoming tide that was getting me closer to the beach. Eventually I was able to get the attention of other kayak guys you helped drag me in to shore and tow my boat in.
All in all I spent about 45 min in the water.

Take aways ... for flotation to help with stability it needs to almost entirely fill the hull and your kayak won't sink without pool noodles. Also ... bilge pumps are a good idea.

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Just sharing a few photos of my internal flotation.
Great topic

Super well done Hydro! Love the creativity and thriftiness of this solve.

Dollar store has pool noodles.

For a while, Amazon had 6-inch x 36 inch yoga rollers for $6.00.  I got a bunch and put them in the kayaks - because a flooded SOT is no different than a flooded SINK.  Just in case you were wondering.
 

Are you a kayaker or a Puget Sound Ferry?  That's a lot of flotation.

 

 Actually, this is only the foundation for these boats. The ideal state is zero dead space.  No matter how much gear I have in my dry bags, I keep them fully inflated and place them in the spaces that are not packed with flotation. This helps eliminate even more dead space.
The flotation not only has to fill almost all dead space but must be balanced throughout the entire boat. If the flotation is not running the full length of the boat, when the hull becomes flooded, you will have a Cleopatra's Needle scenario.

 Tinker,  please share pictures of your flotation solutions. Im interested in what you've done with the larger yoga rollers.

Another flotation innovation that I have been using on my boats for some time now.

How do you use the transducer like that? Doesn't it have to be submerged in water in order to give a readable signal?

You can shoot through the hull.  That's how I was rigged in my smaller boat.  Also handy in river boats when rocks are a threat.  About the only negative I saw was a delay in temp changes.

I have a shoot thru hull transducer too, but I submerge the puck in water.
If I have air below the transducer (before the signal leaves the hull), then I don't get a good signal when I'm Trying to find fish. Just never seen it done in air like that without being submerged - thought that was really hard on the receiver in an air medium.