735769_at_ican.net wrote: > Michael wrote; > > >The goal of racing is to win the race. > >Kayak camping/cruising is almost by definition, steping out of the 'race' > >alltogether > > This is quite true but human nature being what it is one is always trying > to go faster or improve efficiency. There is, however, a practical reason > for more efficient boats and that is safety. If you are trying to avoid > being blown onto a rocky lee shore you will want a boat that can do it. A > water pig may be just fine when conditions are benign but could be > dangerous when the going gets tough. The big danger is to assume that the boat/paddle that is most efficient with a high power paddler at 6+ knots is also going to be more efficient with a casual paddler at 3- knots. A fairly short boat with fine ends and low wetted surface that hits a wall at 4 knots might be a dream for a paddler who never goes over 3 knots, but would be a disaster for a racer who never drops below 5 knots. At the same time, the racing boat with more length, higher prismatic and more wetted surface, that wins races for the strong racer would actually slow the weaker paddler down. Even the boat that wins in waves and chop is not always going to be the one that wins in flat water. michael *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************Received on Sun Mar 29 1998 - 07:51:33 PST
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