paddling over a low head dam (Columbia TN)

[mopar92]

Well, I'm the 3rd to ask, did you get your boat back? The Duck River is a dangerous little river! I live near it myself.

[IAPOWDERHAWK]

Too dumb to die

[wave6472]

very lucky indeed

[Dexxxter7780]

Ya, did you ever get your boat back?

[outOFthePITT]

what happened to your kayak?

[outOFthePITT]

you're a dumb fuck for doing that

[sw3210]

why? paddle a bathtub with a useless deck? maybe go talk to some experienced paddlers about the right gear for the job

[TruSk8terProductions]

Yes you are very lucky to be alive. They nay seem impossible to escape but they are not. When I wad taking my texas boaters education course I learned that when you are at the very bottom of the boil you can swim out. You see when the current is about to lift you back up there is a tiny gap to swim out of. Wearing a life jacket is also helpful. One more thing low head dams are really dangerous when the current is down stream because it is harder to tell when to get out of the current.

[gdk229]

You're very lucky to be alive you TARD!!!

[Logster21]

ITS not a lowhead dam i think.

[720honda]

It's just an overflow! It's not a actual dam! If you go to cresco,Iowa. You can walk and swim on and around it! No big deal

[srynmsbntkn]

@720honda YA YOUR RIGHT ITS A NATURAL CONCRETE TWENTY FOOT DROP, NOT A DAM!!!!!!!! BTW THIS IS IN CENTRAL TENNESSEE DUMBASS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[mynameizcasanova2]

cunning....

[LiveLife2thefunnest]

It does look runable, to low of speed?

you have to come in really really fast to punch through

[jakematheny]

Normally low head dams are a no-no, but this hydraulic does not look overpowering.

Too bad your skirt imploded, you were coming up well.

The cement stairs to the left look like alot of fun, Which waterway?

[OregonPerspective]

dude, youre lucky you survived that, that was a dumb ass thing to do

[Jeffreyclement]

wow. Its amazing how people are afraid of this stuff. B ut when some guy jumps 20 buses with his bike its the coolest thing ever. A risk is a risk no matter how you look at it. And you wont change anyones mind by giving sad stories. Yes, I'm sorry you lost your friends from a stunt. But I know alot of people who lost their friends from doing safe things too.

[campionjj]

you lucky bastard

[drewnatemtab]

We recently lost two friends on a low head dam. I hate the things.

[skateboard0904]

yeah your probably pretty lucky to just swim out of that hydraulic...but it didnt look as bad as others I have seen..but still bad. Not worth kayaking prob.

[kevinbomb123]

how can that kill

[pqwilrj]

The turbulence can hold you under the water.

[Andy851]

You would think differently iif you ever survived one, this man is very lucky, you can see his kayak being held back.

[Honda16Kelly]

google is your friend

[vladimir2277]

You are lucky your skirt popped.

[darabuka1]

loser,

if it was your first hydraulic then dont even try one that size.

a very lucky boy!!!!

[tuttt99]

We call those kinds of dams "drowning machines" here in TX.

How long did your boat stay in the hydraulic? Or is it still there recirculating?

Glad you made it out and learned from your experience. Thanks for posting the video for its educational value.

[coldflesh]

Stupid ass idiot!!!

[riggs129]

If this dam is like any other low head dam, you are extremely lucky to have paddled through it and lived. Low head dams do not work like regular hydraulics!!!!! The bottom floor is usually cemented evenly which creates a hydraulic that has pulled people from 30-40 feet downstream into the dam and drowned them. The downstream current is much harder to find than in a normal hole at the bottom. About 200 firefighters, kayaks, kids, idiots on tubes and mattresses, and canoes have drowned in them

[miskakk]

no ja

[zorrocar]

lucky man

[simpleman6]

low over head dams are very dangerous.

you very lucky not to get caught and drowned by the hydraulic.

[KAYAKN]

What a dumbass!!!!! No wonder we have so many warning stickers on our new boats. Must be a GOOBER paddler!!!!

[fresnoflats]

It is at such a low flow in this video that the recirculation is not very strong. As the flow increases, the recirculation would become overpowering.

The boater appears to be in a rec boat without any rocker so it just speared in. It also appears to have a large cockpit without a spray skirt. That is why the boat remains vertical. The bow immediately filled with water. It is also why the boater was able to immediately eject and swim away.

[srynmsbntkn]

Thank you for the comment, Yes I was in a rec boat (dagger zydeco 9.0) but I was wearing a rec spray skirt which worked fairly well till I decided it was time to swim. This is a deep hydraulic and my first hydraulic. I took one stroke with my hand and I knew I needed to use my paddle to get out, you can paddle underwater if you have the right offset and know how to use it!

[fresnoflats]

Watch the video closely. Your boat spears in deep, bobs up momentarily, then the bow sinks again. This means the spray skirt imploded, filling the bow with water. That is what sank the boat, not the hydraulic. The hydraulic was too small to do much to you if the spray skirt had stayed on. If the hydraulic had been bigger it would have taken your stern down and you could not have swam out on the surface.

To safely experiment tie a line to an empty boat and send it in and pull it out.

[DONDY33]

U R THE LUCKIEST PERSON ON EARTH

[SubcutaneousSmooth]

Glad you made it.

Buy lotto tickets.

[BingoMonkey1]

Nice dam. Where is it? Why did you bale out?

[MacavityF]

Quite lucky indeed. You ever get your boat out?

[mpilcher42]

that is the stupidest thing i've ever seen, dude didn't even give it a boof stroke to clear the hydrualic. dumbass

[mattkayaker]

Boofing in a rec boat? youd have to be god! but anyways he might could've got out of the hydraulic (if he got caught) by 1)just relax 2) swim to the bottom of the hydraulic and swim out (and hope it works).

[pc4max]

I really like this video because it shows how a dam that looks easy can be dangerous