[Paddlewise] Bad Wetting

Richard had said:
>>Why is "wet" bad?   Is it just a regional thing with yalls cold water up
there? To me, wet is about the only way I can keep from overheating, and I
often manipulate the boat to punch the bow into a wave so that I can get
wet.    Also, dry to me, means that the boat has way to much cross
section exposed to the wind. Wind is bad, wet is good.>>

Matt took time from his busy schedule and responded:
>Why? Because when your bow is trapped under water you lose control of it to
the water.> <snip>

Factors contributing to plunging and wet rides includ such things as the
flare of the bow, whether the boat is swede form or fish form, but the
essential truth Matt has highlighted - too much plunging/spray sucks
(especially in cold water). A burying bow is a detriment. My Norkapp buries
its bow a bit, and the newer Nordkapp Jubilee has a fuller bow to deal with
the plunging problem, but is a bit slower with more windage. Boats like the
Seaward Navigator have a very dry ride, but you can "sail" with that
sucker's bow - usually down-wind! The correct compromise is, as always,
personal preference. I like less windage, but have a deep frickin rudder to
keep on course when I take a plunge. Inefficient, but it can be fun. 

>The spray off hatches and deck fittings and lines gets all over your
eyeglasses and then dries to even harder to see through salt crystals.> <snip>

This can be a real problem. On the Storm Island rescue, I was guilty of
repeatedly saying and thinking we were getting closer to the Island, when
in fact, we were only inching our way over the hours. The problem? Couldn't
see outta my spectacles, not worth a damn, and it got worse without me
realising it - sort of like the warming frog to boill analogy. I made a
spectacle of myself. In the confusion of the whole episode, I never thought
to attempt to clean them. By brain became anethsitised by the numbing
tension and expediture of energy. So thick were the glasses encrusted, I
could barely make out the rescue boat's name on the transom. It was not
until I was knocked over by a big roller while letting go of my paddle to
capture the gaff-hook rescue of Andrew by camera, that I could actually see
again after rolling back up - instant 20/20 again. 

[Caveat - Novices, please don't try taking pictures during dramatic
rescues. Please avoid dramatic rescues.] 

Funnily enough, Andrew's long, narrow front-ended Piscese (SP) did very
poorly earlier on in the crossing when his rudder gave out and his bow kept
blowing off the wind. I wondered at the time if having that "pivot" point
that forms from a kayak designed like his with more bouyancy near the stern
of the kayak, was a detriment. 

Dave's  22 inch Arluk was also having problems negotiating the steep
cresting seas. I commented a couple of times to Dave when we neared each
other, that I couldn't figure out why his bow was giving such a wet,
plunging ride, given its full, platypus shape and greater surface area than
my Nordkapp's bow - which while wet, was piercing the waves nicely enough
to part them, yet riding over the bigger foaming crests on the steeper ones
(though both of us had real difficulty just climbing up over the steeper 10
footers). 

Has anybody else out there found a kayak with a perfect bow, with a good
compromise between slicing, lift, and dry ride characteristics - yet not
too much windage?

Hope its okay to throw in the "adventurous stuff" - I don't want the
discussion to get too dry.

BC'in Ya
Doug Lloyd (Who is mentally on the mend since last week).


***************************************************************************
PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not
to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission
Submissions:     paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net
Subscriptions:   paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net
Website:         http://www.paddlewise.net/
***************************************************************************