At 10:47 PM -0700 7/19/98, Dan Hagen wrote: >Nick Schade wrote: >> >> What the heck is purity good for anyway? ...SNIP... If the >> "non-biblical" mating of a kayak paddle with a canoe works better, then why >> not use it. ... >> >> I say the heck with purity. It is fine for museums, but if you are >> interested in actually using your boat, do what works best. ... > >Nick, > >What do you mean by "works best"? I would suggest that most of us who >"actually use" our boats are interested in maximizing enjoyment as >opposed to minimizing effort. If the latter were our objective we would >probably follow the lead of the Inuit and stick motors on our boats. >Aesthetics are an important part of the sport. Boat and paddle >performance have many dimensions beyond crude measures of efficiency. I >definitely try to do "what works best", but I am not quite sure that I >mean the same thing by this that you do. I said "works best" because I didn't want to say anything more specific. What I mean by "works best" is whatever you mean by "works best" and I don't even need to know what you like. It may not work best for me or anyone else, but if it works for you that is fine by me. I may offer a suggestion for an "improvement" but I won't be hurt if you don't like it. For some people evoking a long past era is part of what makes the sport work, this I have no problem with. The people I disagree with are: those who say their way is best because someone else told them so, and the people that told them. If you have not met these people you haven't been to a kayak symposium. There is an importer of a popular kayak who says that their kayak is the "fastest on the water", this being part of their definition of "best". It is not a fast boat in most conditions, but they tell their potential customers it is. Customers beleive them, buy the boat and feel they have the "best". Not because they have fairly evaluated the competition, but because they believe the hype and mystique and went no further. BTW, I don't feel that my designs are included in the competion because I sell plans and kits and am after a different market than companies selling complete boats. "Purity" is usually based on a tradition and has little to do with personal needs. For a time hardly anyone could discuss sponsons reasonably. Many people were bothered by the "impurity" of the idea. The general opinion seemed to be: "real kayaks don't use sponsons." The discussion rarely focused on the actual utility of the device even after you filtered out the anti-Tim material. Nick Schade Guillemot Kayaks c/o Newfound Woodworks, 67 Danforth Brook Rd, Bristol, NH 03222 (603) 744-6872 Schade_at_guillemot-kayaks.com http://www.guillemot-kayaks.com/ >>>>"It's not just Art, It's a Craft!"<<<< *************************************************************************** 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 Mon Jul 20 1998 - 12:50:19 PDT
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