Kevin wrote: So why exactly do whitewater kayaks require more effort? I confess to never having paddled a river boat in rough ocean conditions. Is it tracking? Whitewater kayaks have no tracking, however course corrections are effortless as a result, so a paddler on top of technique should have no trouble keeping on course. At least, this is what I have always suspected, but have never tested personally. Is it lack of speed? Whitewater kayaks are significantly slower than even a coaster at reasonable amounts of paddling effort. Also waterline length plays a relatively much greater role when trying to catch windwaves than in simple straight line paddling (ask me about my experience at Skookumchuk). Is it volume distribution? The bows of whitewater kayaks are made for punching through holes and stopper waves, but there is nothing like this in the average sea condtions that I think John is referring to. So I would guess that a whitewater kayak would provide a very wet ride whereas the coast has a high volume, anti-pearl bow for riding over waves, not through them. So there are three guesses of mine. Can anyone elucidate? Kevin, Your quesses are not far off, but let's deal with one thing first; you state "slower than even a Coaster"...Let me staighten out something--the Coaster is fast and efficient! It won't win a race on flat water with an 18' sea kayak but it accelerates very quickly and holds it's speed well, unlike river kayaks. The reason whitewater river kayaks require more effort is they are not designed for cruising; they are very short, have very high rocker, are usually rotomolded plastic, and have very short waterlines. All this adds up to a slow and squirrelly boat, perfect for playing in holes, but not much use in open water. They do correct easily but if you stop paddling for even an instant, they immediately veer off course. Now, a good paddler could certainly paddle a whitewater boat out on the ocean, but would be working so hard that it would cease to be fun! Regarding holes and stopper waves, there is something very similar in the ocean; it's called surf. Whitewater boats are fun in the surf and relatively forgiving. However, they won't punch through a big wave as easily as a sea kayak. And yes, the Coaster has a bow that rises up over steep seas and helps prevent nose-diving when running with the waves. This allows you to dance in rough water, the wilder the better! John Lull *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
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