Re: [Paddlewise] Rollability Hypothosis

At 11:01 AM 06/29/2000 -0600, Shawn W. Baker wrote:
>I have found my CLC Chesapeake 17 to be a bear to roll.  It is fairly
>wide-beamed (24.5" at sheer, about 23.5" at waterline) and the hard
>chines seem to drag a lot of water when you're rolling up.  It is VERY
>difficult to get near 90* (either from 0* to 90* or from 180* to 90*). 
>I would say that its stability curve is great from 0* to 50* and from
>140* to 180* but it doesn't want to stay near 90* for long. 

Shawn, 
Your subjective numbers match my own experience pretty well.  My CLC 17 is equally difficult to roll.  I'm curious if other CLC owners will defend their craft and its ease of rolling.  My rolling instructor kept wanting to get me out of my own boat and into his surfing kayak -- but of course if/when I ever really need a roll it will be in my boat, not his.  Part of the problem with the CLC is that there is too much butt room and plentiful knee room and I have not tightened it up with pads.  (We won't get into the operator's deficiencies.)

The CLC does not have a lot of peaked bow (like a Guillemot or a Necky Looksha IV).  My unscientific and inexperienced eye tells me the peaked bow should make a boat unstable upside down (that's a good thing).  The CLC does not have the high volume "West Greenland" bow like the Pygmy Queen Charlotte, which I suspect would make that boat help you up to 90 degrees.  Gotta try one out.

My CLC has a rudder.  While the rudder was tied down during rolling sessions, it still adds a lot of resistance to the first portion of the roll and adds deck weight once it clears the water.  I've tried a fair number of different sea kayaks and my own opinion is that the CLC (without rudder) has less directional stability & tracking than other 17' boats, so the d**ned rudder is a necessary evil.

Well, I've finished the process of repairing my keel, where the fibreglass was worn through in several spots.  I dyed the epoxy blood red all along the keel so you will see me from a thousand miles whenever I try to roll the boat again.  The important thing is now I can get the boat on the water again and all will be forgiven.

jerry.
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