Subject: Re: baidarka bow/prow design of a kayak
From: Harvey Golden (qayaq@pacifier.com)
Date: Thu Feb 15 2001 - 22:50:58 EST
Dear Peter & all,
Peter wrote: "Many baidarka enthusiasts seem to think that the ugly (IMHO)
> bifed bow is best suited for rough seas. It has a fairly fine prow and a
> wide upper piece to keep it from diving. The slot in the bow is there
> either by tradition or that you can not make hollow shapes in skin on
frame
> construction, depending on who you ask. If this bow is so superior why
> does not more commercial manufactures simulate it? "
The bifid-bow is every bit functional as it is unique, HOWEVER. . . . In
many folks' humble opinion, (which is really all any of us southern-moderns
can have) it is really only effective in a kayak that is flexible, i.e.,
jointed like a real baidarka. Now the flexibility of a real baidarka is
unknow, but the joinery is known (many other factors apply to "how
flexible", such as skin characteristics, tension of knots and lashings,
etc., etc.)
I don't mean to criticize any kayaks, but the rigid-hulled "Aleut-Style"
cedar-strip kayaks that have appeared recently definitely give the unique
look a nod of respect, but they cannot truly function due to their rigidty--
at least not to the standards of the original builders. Essentially, the
sharp, low cut-water with the wider buoyant upper-part can really only rise
so quickly and fluidly above waves if the hull will allow significant
flexing such that the weight amidship (i.e. the paddler) doesn't merely
force the bow into and under on-coming waves.
As far as why any bow is superior to any other, when it really comes down to
it, your guess is as good as mine!
Harvey
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