It sounds to me that what some people want is a new measure of sea kayak durability, most accurately called a "boof number." Whitewater kayakers call a horizontal launch off a rock or waterfall, followed by a drop and horizontal impact a "boof" -- because of the sound it makes. Manufacturers could simply advise buyers of the boat's Boof Number (in feet of survivable boof) and those interested in such things could act accordingly. In passing, I note that if my sea kayaks were as hefty as my whitewater kayak, they would weigh 150 lbs. and require way too much effort to paddle, especially with a load. Ken Cooperstein *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
At 6:55 AM -0500 1/7/00, Kenneth Cooperstein wrote: >[SNIP] >Manufacturers could simply advise buyers of the boat's Boof Number (in >feet of survivable boof) and those interested in such things could act >accordingly. In passing, I note that if my sea kayaks were as hefty as >my whitewater kayak, they would weigh 150 lbs. and require way too much >effort to paddle, especially with a load. The problem with boofing a fiberglass boat is that gel-coat is not meant to flex that much. In fact, I have seen a couple manufactures who were delving into kevlar boats with lousy results because of cracking gel coat (kevlar in a light layup flexes more I believe, someone correct me if I'm wrong). Drop a glass boat and you're going to get cracks. Part of the appeal of glass is its stiffness. Now a baidarka... My main concern with durability is to avoid getting holes in the hull (which I have done). I currently paddle a Current Designs GTS which I love, but wish it had a heavier layup. Paddling in Lake Superior nice sandy landings are few and far between. Surf and storm landings and launches on rocky can wear a boats gel-coat down pretty quickly. I will most likely add a keel strip this spring. -Patrick *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
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