Date: Tue, 16 Mar 1999 09:32:02 -0800 (PST)
From: wolfgang brinck <nativewater@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: baidarka Re[2]: for good measure
To: baidarka@lists.intelenet.net
---vdoucett@uism.bu.edu wrote:
>
> Wolfgang,
> I agree with your assessment that long boats are less fun and
more difficult
> to handle in surf. What I think has been missing in the discussion
is any
> acknowledgment of the importance of rocker in the overall
performance of a boat.
> Rocker effectively shortens a boats length at waterline making for a
quicker
> turning and more responsive boat in rough conditions.
>
Just this last weekend I took my East Greenland replica out on Lake
Michigan. This is a very flat boat with little rise in the bow and
maybe an inch of rocker. For whatever reason, more rocker had crept
into the boat than when I originally built it - maybe 3 to 4 inches
and last year it surfed quite well. But over the winter I had stored
it outside and it flattened out again. So when I tried to surf this
boat, the nose would bury in the trough of the wave. I then had to
lean back to unbury the nose instead of paddling and would lose
position on the wave. So surfing was abominable.
Likewise, going into waves, the nose of the boat would punch through
the face rather than rising over it.
This brings up another thought on replica building: The original
boats were designed for salt water which has more lift than fresh
water. Consequently, boats paddled in fresh water have higher
displacement. Also, waves on fresh water lakes tend to be steeper than
in salt water. So ideally, aboriginal designs might need some
modification for fresh water.
Wolfgang
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