[Paddlewise] Pachena/hawk - was something else

hi Matt,

thanks for the input, here's a bit more background.
>
> Larry wrote:
> >>one time I was in a Pachena and out running an artic hawk big time. it
was
> short chop and I could surf, but the longer boat couldn't due to multiple
> waves under his hull.<<

Matt wrote:
>
> This is an example of what I mean when I say that we tend to take our
> limited experience and overgeneralize and then latch on to the first
> explanation we hear or theorize. How do you know the difference was due to
> multiple waves under the hull? Was there a study done to eliminate all the
> other possibilities? If so can you tell me which possibilities were
> controlled for and how that was done?

hawk paddler: male, 31, experienced white water and sea kayaker. he has
training, and he is an instructor. he rolls, he races C1 canoes, he races
and has won local kayak races. he lifts wts and trains year round. he
weights 180 lbs. about 5ft11.

Pachena paddler: male, 51, excercises when convient. paddles canoes and
kayaks for pleasure. can't roll. doesn't lift wts or train year round. he
owns both boats - hawk is the main boat that i use. Pachena is my wife's
boat... she is beautiful, but that's another story - yesterday was our 28
anniversity. we saw an eagle, scarlett tanager, lady slippers and lots of
mountain laural.. back to boating.  i weight 190 lbs. about 5ft 9.

Setting: coastal bay protected by barrier island. we are on the mainland
side. onshore wind strong enough to make passing a headland interesting. one
can normally almost walk across the bay which is about 7 miles across, it's
only marked for navigation along one dredged channel.

i have paddled the hawk in short chop and it is my experience that it does
not surf well when the wavelenght is shorter than the hull's waterline. i
have very little time in the Pachena, so don't appreciate how it reacts to
chop.

fact is, i was surfing the Pachena and adjusting my trajectory so that i
stayed deep enough to continue surfing.

fact is, he couldn't surf... when i waited for him to catch up, i see
multiple waves under his hull. i have no idea what else was happening, but i
know that he was not happy to be out run by a short dummy boat....with a
slug paddling it. so, based upon my experience and observations  - suspect
that ..

oh, we were both using euro paddles... his was wider than mine... i was
using my wife's more narrow euro paddle. he was feathered, i was
unfeathered.

his bow was not being burried. i could see that with multiple crests/ and or
troughs, the boat ran rather horizontal.

> Vast majority of the time in deep water. There is a lot more involved than
> just the length of the kayak. Some of these things are discussed in the
FAQ
> section of my website.
>
> Matt Broze
> http://www.marinerkayaks.com

thanks for the pointer to your FAQ. i'll continue to be curious as to when
short boats are likely to out run long boats....i suspect that it doesn't
happen often, if at all, in deep water.

yet in shallow water... i suspect that shorter boats can have an
advantage... sometimes.

i wonder if  there are other paddlers of short boats who have out-run longer
boats in shallow water.  maybe soneone in a Coaster has done it too..

someone once said something like, when dealing with water - experiment
first - then propose theory.
bye bye bliven


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