Re: [Paddlewise] ignorant surf boat question

There's no doubt the drive behind today's whitewater boats having planing 
(flat) hulls is for play.  When I say "play" I'm not strictly talking about 
doing enders, cartwheels, loops etc.  But the big advantage a planing hull 
has over a displacement (round) hull boat is for spinning on a 
wave.  Today's planing hull whitewater boats are magnificent for spinning 
and extremely quick to turn.  I started kayaking in a Dagger Crossfire and 
Response (both displacement type) and have now moved on to boats with 
planing hulls, such as the Prijon Luv, Wave Sport Big EZ, and most of the 
Riot boats.  Today, pretty much the only boats being sold with displacement 
hulls are creek boats.  This is because in technical creeking the 
displacement hull aids with boofing (launching the boat off rocks, etc.) 
and it softens the landing after a big drop, i.e. waterfall.

One important thing to remember is that just because a boat has a planing 
hull, this does not mean it will get it's bow stuck in the water, such as 
described by Paul.  The hull cross-section, planing vs. displacement, 
really has nothing to do with it.  This is called perling, and the two most 
important aspects determining whether a boat will perl is overall hull 
design (not cross-section) from bow to stern, and volume of the 
boat.  Obviously a boat with less volume in the bow will tend to be forced 
under the water, resulting in a fun "play" move if initiated by the 
paddler, or a loss of control of the boat (if inadvertant).  The designs of 
planing hull whitewater boats are improving dramatically every year, and 
some of today's boats play and river run very well.  Others are strictly 
park and play type boats, lacking the necessary volume to be what I'd 
consider river safe for many paddlers.  Obviously a planing hull design 
will not have the "punch" of a displacement hull for getting through holes, 
but that's part of the point.

I'd like to end on this point, not saying I'm an expert in all of this, but 
just what is happening.  I work for a large paddlesports store where we 
stock twenty different models of whitewater boats.  Not one boat we stock 
has a displacement hull.  Right or wrong, this is where the whitewater 
designs are going.  This debate will go on forever, displacement vs. 
planing hull.  I think it's a great thing to discuss because many people 
have different opinions regarding boat design, what works and what doesn't.

Just my $.02.  Happy paddling!

Mark Mastalski

At 07:41 PM 2/27/01 , Paul Murtaugh wrote:
>What am I missing here?  Is the Glide only useful for
>doing tricks?  Will it get stuck in holes if I take it
>down a river?  Is that the point?  :)

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