Re: [Paddlewise] Heavy Brittish Heavy

Actually, I think the explanation is to be found in British naval 
history. HMS Hood was a battleship, and the pride of the British fleet 
at one point. She was as much a symbol of her country's power as US 
aircraft carriers are of American might today. To the shock and horror 
of the British public, in her first encounter with German warships, 
plunging gunfire bypassed the Hood's heavily armoured sides and pierced 
her inadequately armoured deck, igniting her magazines and destroying 
her in a single catastrophic explosion. I believe this has entered the 
British collective unconscious to the point were they build the decks of 
their kayaks to withstand armour-piercing shells. (This naval heritage 
would also explain why Derrick H. is making paddles that are heavy and 
robust enough to double as boarding axes.) -:)



>From: wanewman_at_uswest.net
>To: Dan Hagen <dan_at_hagen.net>
>CC: Paddlewise <paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net>
>Subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Heavy Brittish Heavy
>Date: Sun, 04 Apr 1999 01:12:03 -0600
>
>I agree with Dan on most points.  I have a Romany 18 and I must admit 
it is a
>bit of a heavy weight.  There does appear to be a fair bit of extra 
resin and
>they could cut down on the weight by vacuum bagging their boats.  
However some
>weight is worth it.  The brit-boats tend to have a thicker layup on the 
deck
>than many other designs.  Often the decks of sea kayaks are made of a 
thinner
>fiberglass (for example on less layer of cloth than the bottom of the 
boat)
>than the bottom.  The decks of the armored brit-boats are less likely 
to
>oil-can, or dent if you put weight on them - I would be nervous doing 
group
>rescues with some boats that have lighter deck layups.  Although I have 
never
>heard of hull failure under rescue conditions I have seen some boats 
dent and
>pucker in an ugly way during rescue practice.
>
>The brits also lay a generous glob of extra resin and gel coat along 
the keel
>line. This adds almost nothing to the tensile strength, but it does 
make a nice
>sacrificial layer for general rock bashing.  After several seasons of 
brutal
>crash landings on steep boulder beaches I have only now given in to 
adding a
>keel strip my boat.  I have been very impressed with how much abuse 
these
>layups can take.
>
>Hoisting that heavy boat is good  strength training.  With practice you 
can
>pump yourself up to the point where you can load your 70 pound kayak 
with one
>hand without spilling the pint of ale in your other hand.  Best of all 
there is
>none of that digging around in the trunk of the car to find the jack 
when you
>get a flat tire.
>
>Dan Hagen wrote:
>
>> Gerald Foodman wrote:
>> >
>> > I saw a British boat up close for the first time.  ...
>> > You would have to be governor of Minnesota to lift it.
>> >
>> > Will someone please mail some Kevlar to England.
>>
>> It's my understanding that there are a couple of reasons that British
>> boats tend to be on the heavy side. First, relative to most North
>> American boats, British boats tend to be constructed with additional
>> layers of glass and/or kevlar. (Yes, the Brits have Kevlar, as well 
as
>> other modern materials.) These heavier layups (which can be ordered 
as
>> an option on most North American boats--at additional expense) make 
for
>> a more robust boat. Second, British boats tend to have excess resin 
in
>> the layup. Unlike the first point, this adds weight but not strength.
>> The excess resin may be due in part to the fact that they are 
generally
>> laid up by hand (as opposed to vacuum bagged). This may be changing. 
I
>> understand that NDK, for example, is investing in new technology.
>>
>> Dan Hagen
>> 
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