RE:[Paddlewise] how do you do that, rudderless?

I'm with James on this. By my measurements the Carolina is 29.5" wide. It is
not a kayak that is easy to lean even for a 190 pound guy like me. No way it
is going to lean easily to correct a broach. Even if it could lean easily
that lean most likely wouldn't be very effective. The flat bottom and
rounded chines won't grip the water at the stern much to slow the broach
down even if you can lean it. A narrower version of the same hull would be
easier to lean to turn and that would allow an expert paddler to keep the
nose pointed down wave easier but once into the broach the stern will still
slide quickly around sideways without something to snag the water to slow
down the effects of gravity and an inclined plane (the wave face) that is
causing the broach. Things that might help snag the water to hinder sideways
motion might include: a very long rudder, an under hull skeg, lots of V in
the stern quarter, a keel or multiple keels (or maybe a fin or fins--like a
surfboard) in the stern quarter, or hard chines in the stern quarter)
The Carolina is probably an ideal kayak for laying back and spending a
pleasant afternoon fishing in a small lake without having the slightest need
to pay attention to stability while doing so. No matter how skilled you get
at surfing it is probably still going to be a real handful to control once
you've caught a wave. Going down wind it will probably be better to slow
down and try to avoid catching the waves and use a lot of stern rudder
strokes if you inadvertently do catch one. The wind will still blow you in
the direction you are wanting to go and if you were really in a hurry you
probably would have bought longer narrower kayaks in the first place.

John Fereira wrote:
 >>>>>>>>>.A few weeks ago I took out a boat that makes the Carolina feel
like a Looksha II.
 The Prijon Capria is 2 1/2 feet shorter and 3 1/2" wider, and not only
could it be edged fairly easily, it wasn't difficult to roll either.

The Prijon Capri (12' by 27") is 2.5 feet shorter (and that in itself would
make it lean easier) but my measurements say it is also 2.5" narrower than
the Carolina (and that would make it lean a whole lot easier to lean than
the Carolina) not 3.5" wider. Are we talking about the same kayaks here? The
Capri also looks to be much finer ended than the Carolina (and that would
also make it tippier, other things being equal). John, are you sure that you
are not talking about the Perception Corona or some other Perception model
here. I realize that several sources list the Carolina at 25.25" wide and
the 2001 Canoe Buyer's Guide even says it is only 24.5" wide but my calipers
and tape measure said 29.5" on the one (Carolina Expedition) that I measured
in Sept. 1998. I could be in error, perhaps kcd could measure her Carolina's
width and report back to us on it.

My favorite stroke for surfing on wind waves is the forward stroke with a
stern draw component at the end of it (when needed). With that combination I
can both keep my speed up to stay on the wave face and also pull the stern
up the wave a bit when it wants to start slipping down it. If that's not
enough to control the broach I'll revert to a very quick and powerful
vertical (clean) stern rudder pry-like stroke (down wave) and then quickly
get back into the forward stroke and stern draw mode to not loose too much
of my momentum (if the waves aren't steep enough to keep me surfing by
gravity alone--which, unfortunately, they rarely are).

Matt Broze
http://www.marinerkayaks.com



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