Re: [Paddlewise] Minimal Kleppers (rudders, seats and speed)

No doubt the rudder adds quite a bit more drag than most people suspect and
deadens the lively feel of the kayak too. Don't have any idea about lowering
the seat though. Hutchinson wrote that a higher seat gave a more efficient
paddling position so was faster. I won't be surprised if he got it backwards
though. That always seemed to me to be his style. I always felt that even if
he was right about the higher seat you could still realize a net gain by
lowering the seat and making the kayak narrower while still retaining the
same stability. You might want to run some timed tests both ways to confirm
your observations as to the speed. Maybe your buddies slowed down to play a
joke on you.
Matt Broze
http://www.marinerkayaks.com
-----Original Message-----
From: Peter Osman <PeterO_at_ambri.com.au>
To: 'paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net' <paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net>
Date: Sunday, July 25, 1999 1:55 AM
Subject: [Paddlewise] Minimal Kleppers (rudders, seats and speed)


>G'Day,
> On a couple of occasions now I've forgotten my rudder when packing a
>Klepper and noticed it seemed a bit faster and more manoeverable. Today I
>was stupider and forgot the seat - so improvised one from plastic sheet and
>a couple of sponges - it was a few inches lower than normal and suprisingly
>the boat was much faster. Raced my paddling companions who use Mirages and
>beat them (the Mirage is quite a fast Australian hardshell sea kayak),
often
>I'm struggling to keep up. I'm not particularly muscular (6 foot and 10
>stone). My friends suggested that the more I leave off the boat the better
>and suggested forgetting the skin next time! But I'll draw the line at
that!
>Does anyone have an explanation?
>
>PeterO
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