[Paddlewise] Chines debate baffles me

I am a little puzzled by the endless debate over which is more stable in a 
kayak, sharp or soft chines.

To me this is akin to asking whether a race car is faster because it is 
painted blue or red. It is volume that makes a kayak have stability, not 
chines. Volume can be displaced arbitrarily according to the designer 
whims, contributing primary/secondary stability (or lack thereof). Chines, 
be they round or hard, can indeed affect where the volume is placed, thus 
affecting stability, but the hardness of the chine has no effect.

Okay, since this is Paddlewise,  I have to make sure that all possible 
loopholes in my argument are sealed, or else suffer the consequences, right? :)

Loophole #1:  All else being equal, if a hard chine boat had its chines 
rounded off with a grinder sledgehammer or something, then it would have 
slightly less volume and thus stability would not be the same. But I don't 
have to be Matt Broze to tell you that a clever designer can get around 
this issue easily by adding ever so slightly more volume elsewhere.

Loophole #2: My arguments are not as solid if the kayak is moving or the 
water is tilted (e.g. waves). When surfing, hard chines certainly 
contribute an added element of stability because they resist broaching more 
than rounded chines.

Loophole #3: Some styles of kayaks, be they hard or soft chined, Greenland, 
British, American, etc, are designed to have certain stability 
characteristics. This could lead to confusion if one begins to associate 
the chine design with the stability properties of that particular style.

I hope there's not a chink in my armor.... :)

Kevin


***************************************************************************
PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed
here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire
responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author.
Submissions:     PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net
Subscriptions:   PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net
Website:         http://www.paddlewise.net/
***************************************************************************