Re: [Paddlewise] High Performance, Stability, etc.

Hello you fellow paddlewisers again!
On Tue, 6 Oct 1998, Gerald Foodman wrote:

> to compare narrow tippy boats only with wide kayaks resembling a kitchen
> sink, as Ari does.  There are plenty of 22" or 23" beam kayaks that are
> quite stable and comfortable, even in rough conditions.  Extra stability is
> not detrimental unless the boat is so wide...
> (snip)
> For a non expert but competent paddler who likes to go out in moderately
> rough, but not awful, conditions the extra stability brings higher
> performance in the following sense:   I am far more confident in paddling
> these moderately rough conditions in my stable 22 incher than in some of the
> tippier boats I have tried.  I can surf, lean confidently, and remain in
> control, instead of worrying about staying upright.  In the tippy boat I
> stay inside the jetty, i.e., I get less performance out of it.
> 
> 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.

Gerald, thanks for your comments!

Now, what is really "tippiness"? Is it a feeling of unstability
(when peeing as for an example ;-) or are we really talking about
possibility to capsize? To me essential things are, besides the width,
shape of the bottom combined to  kayakers weight.. a more rounded bottom
feels tippier than a flat bottom but makes leaning easier.  My point was
that learning might become more challenging and one might get more and
better results if the kayak has more secondary stability. Summer ´97 I
kayaked at sea more than 600 miles using my double and an old P&H Fjord,
which were both much wider than my Nordkapp. And had much more flatter
bottom. My capsizing in May was a combination of unfamiliarity
(differently designeded and narrower kayak) and  t r u s t i n g  t o o 
m u c h  to  the stability in general - too much flat bottomed kayaks with
too much primary stability.. 

My comment about kitchen sinks was meant to raise the subject of personal
choice and fitness on surface again.   I do miss sometimes the much more
stronger feeling of stability in P&H Fjord when kayaking in following
seas, but anyhow, Nordkapp did everything nice on last Thursday when I was
returning from my overnight trip (check my other mail on list about
Winter).  I had to paddle through some breaking waves in shallow waters
after leaving the island and trying to enter a channel safely.  The S - SE
wind was again blowing behind, from the open sea.

Hmm - I have made my choice, but it seems reasonable to believe that I am
not trying to do the same at the age of 50,  60 or 70 without checking if
some other kayak might then fit my needs better.

Safe paddling to all.

Ari

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