Gerald Foodman wrote: > Extra stability is > not detrimental unless the boat is so wide that you don't have a good grip > on your boat with your knees and hips, or that it makes leaning slow or > difficult. That is a good point. I paddle mainly folding kayaks, particularly singles. Their width varies from 25 inches to about 29 inches. But most of them have their width high up where the sponsons are and are actually much narrower at the water line. Moreover, the way the cockpit is configured, most paddlers have lots of control of the boat with their knees. Take for example the Nautraid Raid 1 which I now own. It is about 15.5 feet long and 29 inches wide. But its cockpit rim is smaller than many hardshells. Moreover, your knees are in contact with ribs and deck. The sponsons are small and the boat's waterline width is around 23 inches and it leans amazingly easily. All my turns and manuevering is via lean, quite often quite drastic as the sponsons are very forgiving of holding an extreme lean. I am now trying to get the company to send me a seat from another model which has inflatable hip pads built in, which would give me even more contact with the boat. > Also, very important for us older paddlers is pee performance. Can you > remove the sprayskirt of your tippy boat in choppy conditions to do your > business? It is easier to brace with the paddle in your hand than with that > other thing. Here is where the folding singles come into their own. They are virtually floating port-a-sans (have I opened myself up here to derogatory comments by some wags? :-)). You don't need to steady yourself with a brace stroke. It is safe to put your paddle down and deal with business. I carry a pee bottle and use it all the time. I have answered that call of nature under chop conditions in which people around me in hard shells were using bracing strokes to steady themselves without peeing. I have never had a need to crap while on the water, but I think it could be done under most situations, and again without rafting up with a reluctant partner or figuring out how to hold a paddle and paddle float, the container, toilet paper, etc. Stability that doesn't drastically affect other aspects of paddling should not be looked down on. ralph diaz -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Ralph Diaz . . . Folding Kayaker newsletter PO Box 0754, New York, NY 10024 Tel: 212-724-5069; E-mail: rdiaz_at_ix.netcom.com "Where's your sea kayak?"----"It's in the bag." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- *************************************************************************** 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 Wed Oct 07 1998 - 08:50:37 PDT
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