I received two inquiries concerning my post about the N-K SpeedCoach: (1) Please elaborate on speed thru the water vs. speed over the bottom. Answer. The difference between the two speeds is caused by current and leeway. The impeller only sees how fast water is moving past it; it has no idea how fast current might be running and does not measure the transverse speed. That is, you could be paddling at 2 knots with a 3 knot current while the wind is blowing you sideways at one knot. You are really moving at something like 5.1 knots, but the device will only register 2 knots. (2) What are the spring and drag devices like? Answer. They all operate on this principle: If you tie a string to a say a steel nut and drop the nut and string over the side (holding the other end of the string), the pull on the string will increase with boat speed (I think with the square of the speed). The item with which I am most familiar (having one) is the Knotstick. See: http://www.knotstick.com/ $33.95 at Defender Inds. (1-800-628-8225). This item will probably create around 4-5 oz. of drag at kayak speeds, which may be too high. There is no reason why it couldn't be scaled way down to give 1-2 oz. and still work. Ken Cooperstein *************************************************************************** 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 Thu Dec 24 1998 - 07:59:15 PST
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