Date: Tue, 7 Mar 1995 15:28:11 -0800 (PST)
From: David White <dwhite@u.washington.edu>
To: paul labrie <prl@hopper.unh.edu>
Subject: Re: Traditional Kayak Designs
In-Reply-To: <ab80c75a02021004041b@[132.177.128.6]>
Message-Id: <Pine.A32.3.91c.950307133234.61566A-100000@mead1.u.washington.edu>
> Actually, I believe that
> there was some speculation that the twig attached to the bow (a kelp
> "plow"?) may have in fact been a hollow reed that functioned as a "bubbler"
> introducing air just below the waterline -- something to do with laminar
> flow, etc. -- with the end result of reducing drag and possibly increasing
> forward speed. Has anyone ever played with this idea? Would a "bubbler"
> be that significant a contribution or is this just a fringe thought? (hmmm,
> maybe I'll try rigging one this summer using a piece of copper tubing...
> then I'll need a stopwatch & a fixed distance....)
>
Maybe someone can help me with my ignorance here, but...
Just how important was speed to the Aleuts, Inuits, etc.? Were they
really set on shaving off that extra half second on their 100 meter
sprints? It just seems to me that laminar flows and "bubblers" would
really only interest someone who races competitively. But maybe I'm
wrong. I guess if a perfectly fast boat made a lot of difference while
persuing animals during hunts then I can see why it would be important to
consider such designs.
Any thoughts?
dave
-----------------------------
David White
mail: dwhite@u.washington.edu
Dept. of Oceanography
University of Washington
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