Subject: RE: [baidarka] New Boat
From: Cicotello, Gina (GCicotello@finsys.com)
Date: Wed Aug 21 2002 - 15:09:53 EDT
~ Has this been the experience of other baidarka paddlers?
~ What is unique about the baidarka form that gives it these
~ amazing characteristics?
I discovered the same bewitching quality in my boat (a Bruce Lemon design). It seems to absorb the shock of waves and chop, so I barely feel them.
It's as though the boat behaves like it's much bigger than 17' x 22". Stark contrast to getting jarred and tossed around in the rotomolded boats I
paddled before. My kayaker friends marvel watching it go "through" waves. It makes for lovely paddling; I don't fear being exhausted by constant
counteractions and corrections in rough terrain.
I'm sure this is a skin-boat thing, but don't know what it is in the design or construction that fosters it. One theory is that lashed joints in the
frame allow it to "flex", but I can assure mine is tied tightly enough to make the boat pretty darn rigid. The skin is taut like a drum, and coated
with enough urethane to feel like glass.
I'd love a more logical explanation, but I'm willing to accept it as one of the baidarka's magical features.
Congrats on the new boat.
- Gina
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