On Wed, 31 Mar 1999, Karen H. wrote: > instructional videos so I've got a pretty good handle on proper > technique, but when the wind blows that boat insists on turning right > into it! A bow heavy boat will turn into the wind, a stern heavy boat will turn downwind (assuming similar bow and stern wind profiles). > The boat was incredibly stable, but making headway in a fairly strong > wind with a good rip current was a real battle when crossing La Partida. > My guys in the Sealution and Necky Narpa were struggling too, but at > least they were able to maintain a course and concentrate their efforts > on paddling. I was literally doing a sweep paddle most of the way across > (2, 3 or 4 sweeps on the right, one short stroke on left) to keep the > boat headed in the right direction and maintain some forward momentum. > It was challenging paddling for everyone, but the pointed bow and > sleeker design of the Sealution in particular seemed to be the most > efficient in those conditions. Adjusting the trim of the boat would have changed this... imagine your boat is a giant weathervane, the heavy end is turning into the wind. > BTW, I'd be interested in knowing how others control the direction of a > rudderless boat in similar conditions. In my racing canoes we have sliding seats. We regularly adjust where the seats are according to the wind direction and speed. For a race around a lake, on a windy day, it's likely that we will have different seat positions for crosswind, downwind and upwind directions. Ralph Diaz posted a list of ways to counter tracking problems by changing your paddle stroke or the boat lean. I prefer to adjust the trim of the boat if the wind conditions are fairly stable. > Also, any thoughts on the effect of deckbags and other gear tied on the deck in regard to wind? Sure, the more stuff of the deck, and the higher it is, the more it will be effected by wind. If all of your gear was on the back deck it would cause the boat to turn into the wind too. Moving more gear to the front would counteract a bow heavy boat. It's possible that your boat was not bow heavy, but had the gear equivalent of a sail on the back deck - keeping the boat doing the weathervane... kirk *************************************************************************** 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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