Proper clipping for tow lines

[kayakwriter]

So elsewhere on WCP I've burbled about why I consider actual towlines a much more useful accessory for sea kayaking than throwlines (which are more applicable to whitewater/river kayaking.)
But that only holds true if your towline stays attached to your towee. Here's a great little video about why what seems like the intuitively right way to clip your 'biner in is just wrong...

 

[JohnAbercrombie]

I'm always sceptical about dogma...

 

[kayakwriter]

I'm always sceptical about dogma...

And it's always good to (and I mean this sincerely, not sarcastically) do your own research.

I certainly haven't run enough trials either way to have a reliable P-value on this, but I can say that all of the carabiners I've seen come unclipped in practice or "for real" tows had been clipped gate side down. That said, the total of tows I've ever seen come unclipped is a handful out of dozens and dozens. Still, I go gate side side up on the theory that if my tow does unclip due to a gate down, it will do so at the most dangerous or inconvenient moment, per Murphy's/Sod's Law.

 

[JohnAbercrombie]

I always try to clip in "upside down', and I tell other folks to do that, too.
For me, that doesn't mean that it makes a difference, but I still do it.
If the YT video from Pacific Coastal Kayak hadn't shown such obvious 'manipulation' to make the point, I wouldn't have gone to the garage to make my own video.
There are plenty of other 'soft targets' in clipping scenarios - clipping into both deck lines, clipping into the toggle, etc etc.

 

[kayakwriter]

There are plenty of other 'soft targets' in clipping scenarios - clipping into both deck lines, clipping into the toggle, etc etc.

Or, as I saw during a training class, clipping into the front deck "cross bungies" that are meant to hold the far end of your spare paddle. That tow did not last long, and the tow-er was lucky not to get a high-speed carabiner upside the head.

 

[nootka]

You can clip in either way and I can get the biner to unclip.

 

[JohnAbercrombie]

You can clip in either way and I can get the biner to unclip.

OK, but you're not allowed to touch the biner; you must be at the other end of the tow line.

 

[nootka]

Good point. That negates the top video - notice how he holds the 2nd biner but not the 1st.

 

[Tongo-Rad]

Here's a video (from 2m08s) that I've found useful from Gordon Brown about contact towlines, types of hooks, and clipping from bottom-up to minimize the chances of it coming loose.