I am perplexed by the variety of sea kayaks and the use of rocker. Once you decide on total load and your level of skill (stability), it seems to me that the intended use dictates the rest of the design. Yet every manufacturer seems to offer several boats with variation in rocker being one of the principal differences. What am I missing? Assumptions: (1) The boat should be usable in rough conditions without its rudder. (2) Leaning the boat a little causes it to turn away from the lean because the low side is longer on the water than the high side, causing lift aft. Thus lean can be used to steer in open water. (3) Leaning the boat a lot increases rocker and shortens the waterline, making the boat easier to turn with the paddle, but decreases tracking ability. (4) Increasing base rocker makes the boat more maneuverable with the paddle, but decreases tracking ability. Based on the foregoing, it seems to me that a sea kayak should have little if any base rocker; otherwise it will be difficult to paddle in windy conditions without a rudder. It should also be designed so that at high lean, it has abundant rocker and a shorter waterline. This will permit maneuvering in tight quarters. The rudder is only used to help a bit in windy conditions and when surfing. If the foregoing is true, why would anyone choose say a Seawards Vision over a Seawards Navigator for sea kayaking? These boats are identical except for rocker. Similarly, why do many people like the Looksha IV? Without its rudder, it is hard to paddle in strong wind. Ken Cooperstein *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Wed Sep 29 1999 - 06:32:16 PDT
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