The deck rigging

When it came to the rigging, I wanted red as it’s my color and it stands out against the white, but I opted to limit it to the shock cord only, going with black perimeter lines. There was a practical reason for this choice. During rescues, we teach students to hold onto the perimeter lines when they are moving between kayaks in the water or as additional support as they are climbing back onto their boat. Static cord offers support. Shock cord doesn’t.

Opting for differentiated deck rigging colors was designed for safety.

Experience has taught me that telling paddlers to grab my perimeters lines during a rescue doesn’t work. Not everyone knows which ones are the perimeter ones or they simply hear ‘grab lines’. Differentiated line colors allow me to shorten my directions and make them clearer – grab my black lines.

(I have since learned that Team Paddler input for another brand led to this differentiated color scheme being standard on all of their kayaks for this reason.)

Additional safety features were added too.

I had Joey add additional clear tubing around the perimeter line sections in front of and behind the cockpit to make it easier to grab (and get gloved hands around them in cold weather/water and rough conditions) for someone holding Ghost for me to re-enter if needed, for the swimmer to hold onto while they are in the water, and for others to easily grab if support is needed in their re-entry.

Dragon’s Nostrils.

We added the ‘dragon’s nostrils’ at the bow to make it easier to slip a paddle into the rigging, both for carrying a spare and for securing my primary one during a rescue. (Paddle management is a thing!)

I may adjust this once I use it a few times. I’m thinking I’ll make them a bit smaller and/or add tubing over the flat rigging just past them.