Re: [Paddlewise] Impact loading of tow rope

From: Shawn W. Baker <baker_at_montana.com>
Date: Tue, 28 Mar 2000 15:13:42 -0700
Shawn ponders:
>> I dunno?!  I'll dig back into my old posts to see the forces involved
>> were...I can't remember who figured it out before...
>>
>> 
>> Who was it that did the bungie/towrope calculations?
>> 
>> Shawn

Then, Shawn finds the old post he was referring to:

A long, long time ago, Michael Daly wrote:
> Let's assume a paddler weighing 175lb, in a kayak that is 55 lbs carrying
> 70 lbs of gear for a total weight of 300 lb.  We'll also assume a velocity
> of 3 miles per hour.  Plugging the results into our equation (with conversions
> to get everything in inches, pounds and seconds)
> 
> 3 mph =  3 (5280 * 12)/3600 =  52.8 inches per second.
> 
> G = 32.2 ft/sec**2 = 32.2 * 12 = 386.4 in/sec**2
> 
> F =  52.8 sqrt[ (1.6 * 300)/ (386.4) ] = 58.8 lb.
> 
> This sounds good; 58.8 lb is within the range that some folks considered
> reasonable when it was discussed a while ago.  And that's a worst case.
> However, this requires the bungie to stretch under this load:

Dave Seng wrote:
>The thought that went through my mind was, "Gee, it would really S#_at_k to be
>towing an injured friend through some tough water and have that lightweight
>line break."  Something else to remember is that as lines age they
>deteriorate from sunlight, being walked on, salt crystals, etc.  I'd want
>the added security of a greater breaking strength and sacrifice the few
>extra ounces and cubic inches....

While Mike's calculation of 60-ish pounds was a worst-case scenario, for
a sudden stop, I should probably go for the 3/8" stuff.  Especially
considering what Dave pointed out: the deterioration factor!

Shawn

-- 
Shawn W. Baker          0                                    46°53'N
© 2000            ____©/______                              114°06'W
~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^\  ,/      /~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^
baker_at_montana.com    0        http://www.missoulaconcrete.com/shawn/
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Received on Tue Mar 28 2000 - 14:15:49 PST

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