Matt, I'm shocked - stunned, my mates throw a race - never! (unless the betting was fixed). Come to think of it they may have had a beer on the result. An extract from their official report of the event follows : - "Confronted with further wind and rain the foursome accepted U-boat Pete's challenge to a race to the beach to test the speed of the U Boat sans some internal superstructure and humongous rudder. With ballast tanks fully blown, all surplus gear jettisoned and only seriously challenged by ........." (the rest is confidential). Thanks for the comments - I'll do some serious time trials on Saturday. PeterO Matt Broze wrote : - >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. PeterO wrote : - >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) *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
In a message dated 7/25/99 4:58:25 AM Eastern Daylight Time, PeterO_at_ambri.com.au writes: << I'm not particularly muscular (6 foot and 10 stone). PeterO >> Translation for the Yanks: one stone = 14 pounds. Sandy Kramer Miami *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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 >*************************************************************************** >PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List >Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net >Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net >Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ >*************************************************************************** *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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