Elaine wrote; >Re correcting for weathercocking, anybody ever put a continuous loop from >the cockpit to the bow, and fasten a windcatching gadget (such as a small >balloon) to it so that it could be run out as far forward as necessary to >balance the stern's turning moment? e You might correct for the weathercocking but may do more harm than good. Weathercocking results from a combination of aerodynamic and hydrodynamic forces. As you paddle across the wind the boat gets blown sideways (called leeway) so if you kept your boat always pointing at your destination you will travel a curved course of greater distance than if you made no leeway. How much leeway you make will depend upon the windage and the lateral resistance of the boat. If you do nothing to increase the lateral resistance, adding anything above the water will increase the wind resistance and cause greater leeway. So, even though you will not turn into the wind you will have to paddle further due to the greater leeway. Even if you head above the direct course the added leeway will cause more resistance since the boat is traveling kind of crab like rather than straight through the water. Somewhere I have a report of a study of an International sailing canoe that showed a considerable increase in resistance at relatively small leeway angles of about 5 degrees. If I recall correctly it was something in the order of 40% for a boat with a centerboard down. I will dig around and see if I can find more somewhere in my stack of papers. Rudders and skegs with good airfoil shapes can help reduce leeway and weathercocking by providing some lift. Narrow deep draft hulls have greater lateral resistance and that helps too. Keels can help although the long full length keels have less effect than a short deeper keel. I have had good results with centerboards although they do take up a bit of room. The hydrodynamic aspect of weathercocking (and turning) are explained in my completely non-commercial web page at http://home.ican.net/~735769/control.htm with no advertising. Cheers, John Winters Redwing Designs Web site address, http://home.ican.net/~735769 *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Sat Oct 02 1999 - 08:47:27 PDT
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