I'm curious whether there are other types of non-motorized crafts that are just as good as kayaks for accompanying individual swimmers in an open water swim race (in this case a lake). Would there be any downsides to canoes vs kayaks (assuming it has the needed # of people)?
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My primary kayak for escort is an old school round bottomed river runner. Plenty of volume inside and deck area fore/aft of the cockpit to stow food, dry bags, almost anything. Much more manuerverable than any keel boat - I can spin in my own length and paddle backwards. Not so much faster than (some) swimmers - the ones going around Manhattan solo - and I can always roll to cool off later in the afternoon. Pretty worn away by now, but you can still read the name of one swimmer on the bottom!
This season I'm looking to use a helium balloon for visibilty, doubled as an extender for my protable marine VHF
My primary kayak for escort is an old school round bottomed river runner. Plenty of volume inside and deck area fore/aft of the cockpit to stow food, dry bags, almost anything. Much more manuerverable than any keel boat - I can spin in my own length and paddle backwards. Not so much faster than (some) swimmers - the ones going around Manhattan solo - and I can always roll to cool off later in the afternoon. Pretty worn away by now, but you can still read the name of one swimmer on the bottom!
This season I'm looking to use a helium balloon for visibilty, doubled as an extender for my protable marine VHF
