Nick Schade wrote: >Every use has an ideal stability profile > Good performance is whatever you define it to be. A swim-platform is a high > performance boat if what you want to do is dive off it. It is not much good if you want to > practice your roll. Good thought. Seems like the same principle works in the discussion on safety. Every use -- every desire -- every recreationist has its/his/her own safety/risk profile. It is easy to talk absolutes in safety: Wear a life jacket; Learn to roll; Buy a sponson -- or don't; Practice in certain conditions; Take courses in this or that from certified instructors; Buy this boat or that boat; Don't go out in this condition or that. But it's all pretty arrogant unless one knows the individual person. Not just the individual's skills and activity, but also the direction they choose to take risk in. Some may enjoy risking hypothermia and experience the freedom of not bundling up (not me!). If that is their sport -- their enjoyment -- their profile will differ from mine. Some may enjoy the risk of night paddling. If their whole reason for kayaking is to experience the sights and sounds of night, it does little good to say that night paddling is not safe. And learning styles will affect a safety/risk profile. Some people learn best in courses. Others learn best by slow assimilation with with a bit more risk (in some direction) each time they do something. Some learn best by listening. Some learn best by writing. Some learn best by trying and failing. Some learn best while sitting -- others while standing. In either choosing a boat or advocating a safety principle, absolutes don't make much sense. Just a long way to say: "Well said, Nick. I agree." *************************************************************************** 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 Tue May 19 1998 - 22:21:01 PDT
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