Kenneth Cooperstein wrote: > I don't think adding dense ballast to a kayak -- even removable ballast > -- is a good idea. You never know when you will need all the floatation > you can get. Before I would use lead, steel or rocks, I would first try > wood or water -- both of which will not affect buouyancy in a swamped > craft. As for water, I would use pool cover tubes or a poly water > bottle in the compartment where it is needed. This isn't quite true. While wood will generally float, it is still much heavier than air and will decrease the buoyancy of the boat. Water weighs 62.4 lbs. per cubic foot (8.34 lbs. per gallon) and will definitely decrease the buoyancy - a swamped kayak doesn't float well because it's full of water! As far as adding 25 or 50 lbs. of ballast, a typical yak has about 100 gallons of volume, or about 834 lbs. of buoyancy. Assuming a 200 LB paddler and 150 lbs. of hear, you still have over 480 lbs. of net buoyancy in the craft and 25 or 50 lbs. won't really make that much difference. My 2 cents. Craig Olson Bellingham, Washington *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net ***************************************************************************Received on Wed Feb 11 1998 - 16:46:28 PST
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