Re: [Paddlewise] Hull speed and Olympic Kayaks.

Michael wrote:

SNIP


> 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.


Good that Michael and others are trying to straighten out this misconception
about hull speed. I remember when I first explaine this in the old
Canoesport Journal and some of the great lights in canoe design threatened
to have me drawn and quartered for spreading heresy. I once asked an expert
to paddle a measured course at top speed. When the calculations showed he
had exceeded hull speed by a considerable amount he swore I misread the stop
watch. So deeply can our beliefs become entrenched.


One minor but important detail. In sprint kayaks and canoes "hull speed" has
almost no meaning at all since wave making resistance doesn't become an
overly  large proportion of the total resistance at any speed.

You don't even have to race to attain high speeds. Even my old body can
reach high speed/length ratios in short bursts.


> * 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?

Olympics don't have any specs, (some would say thank God) and the boats are
governed by the ICF. The horns just behind the cockpit are rule cheaters to
make narrow boats that still meet the beam minimum. The ICF has a tradition
of illogical rules and even more illogical enforcement.

Cheers,

John Winters
Web site address http://home.ican.net/~735769




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