I have a necky manitou 14. It's a sit inside touring kayak. I've modified it and fish out of it. At some point I want to go down to the gulf coast and go fish the oil rigs out there. In the lake, if I flip over I can drag the yak to the shore and start over. That's not an option if the shore is 2 miles away so I need to learn how to roll my kayak. I have an idea what I'm supposed to do, but I put the yak in a pool today. .............well I can't do it. Anyone out there know how to roll a kayak that could help me learn?

I've never tried but lately I have seen several you tube videos on the subject.

I always assumed you couldn't roll a sit-in and get the water out. But I am also wrong a lot when I assume.

You can easily eskimo roll a SINK but you need to be wearing a kayak skirt. You would need a skirt anyway to get that type of yak through the surf. (The first 50 yards are the hardest). Really, a sit inside isn't a practical fishing platform for a trip to the rigs.
If you flip even with a skirt, its likely to be in the surf zone. A very bad place to be upside down.

I paddle a WS Pungo 140, which I brought so that I could paddle in addition to doing some occasional fishing. I have never wanted to learn to roll this kayak since it is a recreational kayak that is not really designed to roll, but I have seen videos of people rolling one.

You might want to contact Steve @ Discover Kayak since he offers lessons on everything from basic to advanced kayaking including one lesson where he gurantees that you will be able to roll a kayak by the end of the lesson. He also has an advanced safety class he teaches how to do self rescue which teaches you how to get back into a kayak that you have come out of. I have taken that class which came in handly just this past weekend, when I ended up in the Trinity after a snake got a little closer to me than I was comfortable with. Anyway, I am in no way affiliated with Discover Kayaking, but have taken several classes there and have been on even more group paddles that he has out of Lake Grapevine. Anyway, he is a stand up guy and I would recommend them to anyone who wants to take a kayak out on the water.

Oh, I believe that he also teaches a class on surf kayaking, in Galveston as well as a whitewater kayaking class.

The wife and I both have Ascend D10 touring yaks, but we stay out of the surf and only keep to the bays, rivers, and lakes. We did some night time fishing at the Galveston causeway bridge by Tiki Islands this weekend and bagged a bunch of nice keepers. West Bay is prime kayaking anywhere, but you can easily get lost if you don't plan your trip ahead of time or don't have a good GPS. We are afraid of the surf for the same reasons you have and our yaks are not setup for skirts... I guess you can spray some expanding foam in the ends of the inside of your yak if it does not have any already, but I do not know how that will affect your cargo space etc.

I agree with the post above. Take the safety course and see if your yak is effective enough to roll in case of such an event of a roll over. Good luck and be safe out there! Its all fun but it's the nature of the game! Safety first and ride in your comfort zone!

Just noticed this is an old thread... sorry for digging old threads and bringing them from the dead!

Please be very very careful. I'm not going to tell you what to do and not to do but a sit in at the rigs, through the surf twice and fairly novice at BTB.....that's a movie without a happy ending most times. If you decide to do this, take some friends who have gone BTB before. Never alone.

With the right sit inside, proper outfitting, and experience, I'd give the edge to a sit in over sit on top for seaworthiness in the worst conditions. In the hands of the inexperienced, its a recipe for disaster.

Nicely stated.

Thanks for all the replies.
@Jerry I've seen the videos. They make it look way easier than it actually is, but I'm sure it's in the technique.
@Jesse the skirt keeps most of the water out and there are special hand pumps to get water out.
@Norman I have a skirt. 2 actually a half skirt for warm calm situations and a full one for colder or rough water. I didn't think it would be a practical fishing platform either but the price was right. As it turns out it's a great fishing setup. I don't have as much room for tackle as the sit on top yaks, but I have enough and big speed/ ease of paddling advantage. If I flipped over in the surf zone, I'm ejecting. I'll drag it back and start over before I get my head drug through the sand.
@double noob I shall find this Steve you speak of. Thank you.
@Ioben I got some spray foam to use in the front hatch to hold the battery and some other from moving around up there. Mine does have sealed bulkheads at both ends.
@Chris I appreciate your concern for my safety. That's why I'm trying to learn how to deal with the potential situations before I go down there. And I wouldn't even consider attempting it alone. I'm hoping to get together with Ty (30milesout.com) when I'm ready to make the trip.
@iconn4 I agree.

Sounds like a good plan.
Ty is a great guy. Teresa is right there too with kayak knowledge. Good folks to get with to learn the ropes. Also talk with Dean Thomas at Slow Ride Guide Service. Another great ambassador of our sport.

I paddle a hybrid (Ultimate FX12) and would never attempt BTB in it.

X2. Eskimos have been hunting seals and whales for ever. That said i like my sot.

I like your sot too Christian.

thanks.
Ive seen many yotube vids of incredable paddlers in sit in yaks playing in the surf. Both long and short yaks. Those just dont seem to be very comfortable for fishing. I have a sit in raptor. Its a lot easier to re enter my sot's. I like to jump out and swim or cool off in the summer. Sit ins are also a smidge more complicated when you gotta take a leak and dont wanna go to shore.