Chuck Holst wrote: > >> > In a message dated 1/27/00 10:58:19 PM, michaeldaly_at_home.com writes: > > >Two sea kayaks and a rack are about the same weight as one small person. > >The gear I carry for two on a long weekend's trip weighs about the same > >again. Not what I'd consider an excessive load and well within the ratings for > >the car. > > Within the weight ratings, certainly. But what about factoring in the > additional wind resistance load (s) both just plain going down the road, and > also in crosswinds? > <snip> > Scott > >> > > Kayaks are so streamlined that I doubt they create much drag on the car. > Last summer my wife forgot to strap down her Romany, and we drove at speeds > up to 55 mph on the freeway before I noticed the bow moving up and down > slightly. If the kayak had much drag, I'm sure it would have flown off the > car. One way to look at the drag effect is to consider that drag increases with the square of velocity. Hence, if the kayak adds 21% drag, that's equivalent to the car without the kayak going 10% faster ( 1.10 squared is 1.21). Or if the kayak increases drag by 44% - 20% faster. Doubling the drag is like driving a clean car 41% faster. So the effect on wear and tear is like driving at a higher speed. Pick your guess on the drag increase and see what the effective increase in speed does to your mechanical system. Mike *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************Received on Sat Jan 29 2000 - 10:11:23 PST
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