Hi, I'm a mostly sea kayaker who enjoys ocean surfing and occasional easy river runs. Much to the amusement of the modern whitewater community, I've been using an old New Wave Sleek for surfing. Recently I bought a used Riot Glide, because I wanted to see what a planing hull is like. After a few times surfing, I haven't really figured it out. The biggest difference I can see between the Sleek and the Glide is that the Glide tends to bury its nose in the wave, causing a capsize, a submersion that takes me off the wave face, or, in one case, an inadvertent ender (which I admit was sort of fun). 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? :) -Paul *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
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? :) *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
Another advantage of a planning hull is the fact that they are very stable and are very easy to tilt downstream, as in a peelout, or downwave as in a surf cutback. All we teach the beginner to do is LOOK downstream as they peel. The flat hull takes care of any tilt. The *JUST REMEMBER TO LEAN DOWNSTREAM* command went out a number of years ago. It just ain't necessary with a modern hull. Steve Scherrer aldercreek.com *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
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