Kirk wrote; (SNIP) > >I've got self bailers in a couple of my racing canoes. They are basically a >stainless steel trapdoor that drops down through the hull. When it's not >open it's flush with the hull, to deploy it you push down on it, the lead >edge is hinged, the sides are closed and the back of the bailer has a panel >that gets "sucked" open when paddling forward. You don't have to go all that >fast to get it to work. In my experience with both sailboats and canoes the smaller the bailer the better it works (I.e. works at lower speeds). Another important factor can be the placement of the bailer. They work best where the velocity is greatest. Normally this means at or slightly forward of the longitudinal center of buoyancy. Keep in mind that they also work best when the speed is nearly constant. This means that a long slow stroke with considerable speed differential between maximum and minimum will be less effective than quicker strokes with a more constant speed. (called a low "Check factor" by rowers). There is a bailer that I have not tried sold by Sea Sure (Fig 19-90) that supposedly works at very low speeds. I hope to try one next year when it is warmer. Cheers, John Winters Redwing Designs Specialists in Human Powered Watercraft http://home.ican.net/~735769/. *************************************************************************** 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 21 1998 - 07:34:32 PDT
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