Subject: Re: baidarka Instability/ Lead Ballast
From: James Mitchell (mariner@seanet.com)
Date: Wed Dec 20 2000 - 19:55:28 EST
Not familiar with the Shearwater off the top of my head, although I am sure
I have it stashed here somewhere. But I have paddled the Coho more than
once. It is a well executed kit, but from my point of view it suffers from
one of the classic problems of all rigid material hulls. The lack of
flexibility in the material has an important impact on speed and stability.
The fabric hulls take a concave shape around the stringers when pressed by
the water pressure. I think it is a major factor, increasing both the hull
speed and stability.
Corey took a baidarka similar in configuration to Raven down to Pacific
Water Sports, and Lee Moyer and friends used it as a plug for a baidarka
mold. They layed up a fiberglass baidarka, modifying only the bow by
closing in the nose. The resulting boat weighted about 45 lbs. It paddles
well, but...
But it feels heavy. Clunky. Dull.
But it is tippier than the same hull in fabric.
And it is slower.
Last I saw, it was sitting out in the grass in the pasteur full of
rainwater. I brought it down here once and cleaned it up. Corey uses it
once in awhile for demos. But the difference in feel between this hull and
the fabric hulls is day and night, even though the builder and design are
the same.
That same "clunky" feel is what I feel in the Coho. It feels like a big
dead boat. Yet people who are used to fiberglass production hulls feel like
it is spritely. I am sure that if I were really locked into that cockpit
rather than paddling a demo boat, it would feel much better. I dunno. I
guess multichine is appropriate for the stitch-and-glue material base. I
sure think there are better solutions if you are working in fiberglass -- go
compare Corey's glass baidarka to a Mariner Express. It won't take long to
decide.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Eddy, Andrew (FSA, North Ryde)"
<Andrew.Eddy@foodscience.afisc.csiro.au>
To: <baidarka@lists.intelenet.net>
Sent: Wednesday, December 20, 2000 4:21 PM
Subject: RE: baidarka Instability/ Lead Ballast
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: James Mitchell [mailto:mariner@seanet.com]
> > Sent: Thursday, December 21, 2000 4:00 AM
> > To: baidarka@lists.intelenet.net
> > Subject: Re: baidarka Instability/ Lead Ballast
> >
> > I can't imagine navigating around the Pacific in a square
> > rigger without
> > knowing what 10 knots looks like... Andrew, are you using a
> > GPS to check
> > your speed? Seems to work really well, even for short distances. Of
> > course, it still leaves me back here while Lew disappears into
> > the horizon...
>
> Yep, since the US DoD removed SA from the GPS satellites my Garmin GPSII+
> has been unbelievably precise. I'm confident that the measured speeds are
> about right. They may in fact be down a little on peak speeds - from
> observation of the unit, I reckon its actually giving me a moving average
> over several seconds.
>
> >
> > I have been doing all my boat building outdoors under a
> > lean-to canopy,
> > which is how I made a 20 foot double with only a 20 foot garage.
>
> Damn, I don't have that option. I live in a block of flats (apartments, I
> think you call them). The Owners' Corporation would look dimly on me if I
> tied a tarpaulin to the side of the building!
>
> I can possibly manage to build the 19'1" baidarka to about 18'6" if I
build
> it diagonally across the garage. Of course, I'd have to store it that way
> too. MAE 573-96 is definitely the one I want to build. John Winters'
"KAPER"
> program says it should be markedly better than my Shearwater Baidarka in
the
> 6 to 8 knot range (the Shearwater is already markedly lower in resistance
> than, for example, the Pygmy Coho, in this range).
> -
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