Something I posted on rec.boats.paddle.touring. Thought some who don't subscribe might be interested. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A couple of weeks ago some folks were discussing (and getting confused about) hull speed and the relationship to length. I pointed out that it's not a speed limit and that kayakers can exceed the hull speed. Let's take a look at Caroline Brunet's finish in the qualification round of 500m K1. Time over 500 m = 1min 54 sec. This is equal to 1.90 min. Speed = 0.5 km * 60 / 1.9 = 15.8 km/h. LOA of kayak = 520 cm* (not sure of the LWL, but using LOA will overestimate the hull speed). = 17.06 ft. Hull speed = 1.43 sqrt( 17.06 ) = 5.91 knots = 6.79 mph = 10.93 km/h. Her peak speed would have been greater than 15.8 km/h, since she started from a standing start. Therefore, we can safely say that she exceeded the hull speed by at least: 15.8/10.9 = 1.44 or 44%. As you can see, hull speed isn't a limit. It is just the point where the paddler has to start doing a lot more work for the speed they're going. Mike * I'm not exactly sure if this is the right length. It's the only value I've found for ICF flatwater K1. Is there a web site that lists the ICF K1 specs? I couldn't find one. Is it the same as the Olympic spec? *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced/forwarded outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Wed Sep 27 2000 - 18:10:44 PDT
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