Re: [Paddlewise] Re ballast

Ralph wrote;

> I have been following this ballast discussion with great interest.  It
> makes me feel pretty dumb.  I keep asking myself why anyone would want
> to add 30 pounds or more of dead weight to their boat that needs to be
> hefted with every launching or takeout as well as propelled through the
> water with every paddle stroke.  Wouldn't it be better to get a boat
> that is sufficiently stable by design for your paddling skills and you
> individual sense of comfort regarding touchiness and stability of the
> boat?  If one can't handle paddling a certain boat comfortably and
> within one's skills then adding weight seems a weird approach.  I can
> see it if you bought the boat, find it too tippy and then rather than
> buy another boat pasting in some lead, tying down water bags, whatever.

(SNIP)


This ties in with what Dana wrote regarding boat size. Boats simply aren't
sold well and the bigger is better (and sometimes, narrower is better)
philosophy is pushed because it is so easy to sell to customers. 

For the vast majority of paddlers, a boat with enough designed in stability
to provide comfortable stress free paddling is far better than a less
stable high performance boat but they have a down side too. 

If we consider just the stability issue it is easy to see that people will
feel more comfortable in a properly loaded kayak due to the added stability
of gear etc. The problem arises when they venture out lightly loaded and
unaware that the characteristics of their boat are now significantly
altered. If the critical conditions are encountered the mix is right for an
accident and the paddler, is unaware that he or she has done something
wrong. 

>From a strictly design standpoint the problem is that boats are not sold
with a displacement range. i.e. a range of displacement at which stability
and performance are optimized. Few sales people and even fewer paddlers
understand or even know about the concept. For years I have argued with Sea
Kayaker Magazine that they should test boats at the designed displacement
but they persist in doing a full range. How many can read the stability
curves and recognize that a boat is either under of over loaded for a
specific type of paddling. 

Because so many people buy the "wrong" boat it is probably worthwhile
knowing how to improve things even if it does mean doing something that
isn't really optimal.

There is a parallel with ships. Occasionally a ship has to move in ballast
condition i.e. unloaded and with water pumped aboard to provide stability
and proper trim. Works pretty well until they pump the filthy water out. 



Cheers
John Winters
Redwing Designs
Specialists in Human Powered Watercraft
http://home.ican.net/~735769/




  
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