Interesting story, Magooch. A couple of recent deaths here (canoes overturning--one went over a dam, the other caught in a snag on a canal), and unusually warm weather bringing out all sorts of folks in all sorts of craft on local waters (with still-cold water), has led to a lot of hand-wringing here. Saw a somewhat tubby gentleman wedged into the cockpit of his kayak along with his 2-3 year old. Coming into shore, he ran the bow up onto the beach, and the boat rolled over onto its side. Was quite a scene watching him trying to extricate himself & child from very tight fit in cockpit. No danger there, but if he had capsized offshore, it would have been a possibly deadly scenario. Yearly Coast Guard stats show that the overwhelming majority of fatalities are small-boat capsizes mostly due to boater ignorance and stupidity, and it will always be thus. My own "action" is to always present a serious, well-equipped apppearance on the water--PFD, wetsuit/drysuit in season, etc.--and to talk to others about joining a local canoe/dayak club. Anything remotely like lecturing (unless very carefully done, often results in hostility.