Subject: Re: [baidarka] finished!
From: wolfgang brinck (nativewater@yahoo.com)
Date: Wed Oct 03 2001 - 14:22:25 EDT
common problem. The first boat I ever built, a
Greenlander went over on me on my first time out and I
spent 30 minutes swimming it back to shore. Much to my
embarassment, someone had called 911 and both the fire
department and Coast Guard boat showed up.
My thoughts at the time were, what have I done? I have
built a boat I cannot paddle. Truth is, I learned to
paddle it.
Some things to keep in mind. These boats were paddled
without seats, just a thin mat on the floor. Even 3/4
inch elevation in the seat can make the boat feel
significantly more unstable. Try paddling without a
seat in the boat.
Secondly, if you are used to paddling commercial
boats, these are usually stable enough so that you can
lean into the boat and stay upright. In traditional
boats you can only lean into the paddle that is doing
its power stroke. If you're resting, use the paddle as
an outrigger. If you are using a plastic or feathered
paddle, take the time to make an unfeathered wooden
paddle. These work great as outriggers - paddle
extended at right angle to the deck and one blade
resting flat on the deck with the other blade resting
flat on the water.
And finally, practice. I have built a copy of the
Leningrad Baidarka, similar dimensions as yours and
have gotten used to paddling it without ballast. Yes,
you can get used to it. Just need to develop different
reflexes. Don't lean into the boat, lean into the
paddle.
Wolfgang
--- Kcorkey@aol.com wrote:
> okay so I finally finished my 18'4" by 18" Aluet
> baidarka. It looks beautiful! It pained me greatly
> to cover up such a gorgeous frame! But now it's done
> and last night I put it in the water for the first
> time. Proof that you can't float on looks alone. I
> can' t even sit in it because it's so unstable! Both
> primary and secondary are non existant. I paddle
> high performance boats a lot, I'm not being a wimp,
> it's impossible. I only weigh around 120 so I put
> someone in it who weighs 220. It was better, but
> still not possible to paddle so ballast won't work.
> Where did I go wrong? The only thing I can come up
> with is that I had been thinking that it was going
> to be a really tight fit (depth wise) and it appears
> that I have more room than I should. The keelson on
> this boat is really deep, almost 2 inches, but
> that's what Zimmerly's plans show. I chose this
> particular boat partly for it's length and partly
> for it's softer chines. I've never liked hard chined
> boats much and never wi!
> shed for more stability.
>
> Now I'm looking for suggestions on how to fix it.
> Although, Guy Foxxe night is comming up and it would
> look nice in flames out on the river..........
> I'm thinking about shortening the ribs and/or
> reducing the keel, in effect reducing the depth of
> the hull and the depth to width ratio. I don't know
> a thing about hull design though.
> Meanwhile I think I'll take the skin off and hang
> that beautiful frame from my cathedral ceiling
> untill I figure out what to do with it. At least it
> looks impressive ;-)
> any words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated. A
> crying towel might be nice too!
> Kirsten
>
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