Ok, so I have a 17' Aquaterra Sea Lion, and have been really happy with it. Last weekend, I was solo in the Outer Boston Harbor, and stupidly not wearing a wetsuit. I capsized, and had to deal with hypothermia.
However, the point of the post is, both my bow and stern compartments got a good deal of water in them. While she did stay afloat fine, I was wondering if people could shed some light on float bags, what they are, how they work, and how they're installed? Thanks!

Before sea kayaks had bulkheads, crucial buoyancy in case of a capsize was maintained by inflatable flotation bags stuffed into the bow and stern, inserted and inflated (by mouth) before putting the boat in the water. NRS and other kayak supply houses sell them. The bags are roughly tailored to fit into bow and stern. They are fine extra insurance. Some people work with ping pong balls, styrofoam peanuts, etc. stuffed into multiple trash bags. I'd check also on making sure those hatches and bulkheads on your Sea Lion were up to spec.

Jim, it would be very useful to concerned sea kayakers and would-be kayakers to read your tale about your adventure in Boston Harbor--whatever you'd like to tell us, long story or short summary, would be appreciated.

This topic is way more important than a GEAR issue. If your bulkheads leak enough, your boat will sink and you will become nearly invisible on the water. I was taking a "strokes and rescues" class doing wet exits and various rescues. Afterwards I saw that my bow had only 2" of freeboard. The sealant on the forward bulkhead had come loose. It was a boat I had bought new the previous year. The sealant should be checked regularly on any boat with foam bulkheads. I'd bet half the boats on the water, have leaky bulkheads. Also, if any hatch pops off, the boat will quickly flood and do the "needle". The rear hatch on my WS Tempest is big, floppy and can be dislodged pretty easily. New and better hatches like KajacSport cost around $150. Rubber hatches should be put on CAREFULLY and periodically treated with "303" or something similar to maintain pliability. This is a huge safety issue. Some rental boats are especially shaky. There are kayaking deaths every year that are mostly preventable - non-use or misuse of PFD's, boats with shaky reserve flotation and yakkers that don't dress for in-water exposure. The SAFETY category should be put at the "top of the categories" and not limited to magazine articles. As such, it's had no posts for nearly a year!! Our stories of screw-ups, goofs and "close calls" can be instructive, esp. to newbies. People in the industry and the folks who paddle should work to make our sport safer. The number of kayak deaths every year is unacceptable.

The issue of kayak reserve buoyancy has always been a concern to me, so all of my previous boats have had dedicated styrofoam flotation firmly affixed into the bow and stern compartments. While airbags (float bags) are a step in the right direction, and should be installed in lieu of nothing at all, I would recommend figuring out some other sort of non-puncturable, non-deflatable flotation for one's kayak. Some may recall that I was struck by a powerboat while paddling my previous kayak; the impact took a Great White-sized chunk out of the hull near the stern, and the boat would have "needled" had I not had styrofoam flotation crammed into the stern. I'm now working on how I'm going to so equip my Epic.

I would use flotation bags (Air bags) they are light and when inflated they form to the shape of your boat. The new ones these days don't leak and are made of very durable material. We use them for WW kayaking and they hold up for years with no issues. They are also inexpensive and easy to install and remove when needed. This is a no brainier here and no need to spend all kinds of time trying to fit foam.

If you get hit by a power boat and the prop chews up your boat or worse, then foam or flotation bags or whatever you use wont help you much anyway. Here in the northwest we have more a chance of getting ran over by supertankers, ferries, yachts, and freighters. Those old guys in their 50foot yachts like to aim their smelly environmental destroying devices right at you. I still cant figure out why they do that, I guess you could always fire a flare at them when they come at you...

We always take float bags with us, both bow and stern. If we are touring they are deflated while we are completely loaded but can quickly be inflated to give added protection while doing a paddle after camp is set up. Also on longer trips we are able to fill the space that once contained food with backup buoyancy. Plus filling the void keeps cargo where we want it, low and in the middle of the boat.

Like Nhk said the new bags are quite airtight and very durable.

Mikekayak