Re: [Paddlewise] Mariner Kayaks (was: Why does rocker and carving work?)

From: Shawn Baker <shawnkayak_at_yahoo.com>
Date: Tue, 4 Dec 2001 08:01:01 -0800 (PST)
Steve Scherrer "Alder Creek Kayak & Canoe" <aldercreek_at_qwest.net>
wrote:

>Where's Mr. Broze?
>
>According to Matt, Mariner kayaks turn by being edged alone.  No 
>initiation required. Something about the asymmetric shape of the hull.
 
> Tilt right and the hull turns left and visa versa.  

They do, they really do!  It's the craziest (but one of the neatest)
things I've ever felt.  I borrowed a buddy's Mariner Max this summer,
and simply paddled in a dead-straight line.  Lift the right knee, turn
to the left.  Drop the knee, and heading straight again (on a new
course).  Lift the left knee, and turn back onto the original heading.
All without a single paddle stroke.  It was also surprisingly
maneuverable, leanable, and edge-able for a 23" wide boat.  I could
also handroll it, which surprised me.

> Most boats I have paddled are more or less neutral when edged and
need 
>some sort of persuasion or initiation to turn.  

Yes, and like you said, more edging can pronounce the turn, but the
edging doesn't actually produce the turn.  I've heard some hard-chined
Greenland-style hulls carve paddle-less turns, but I haven't run across
one yet.  

I imagine the Broze brothers' asymmetric hull with no chines forward
and hard chines aft is a huge contributor to this effect.  I think all
of the Mariner models have a very pronounced Swedeform hull shape. Also
the "rudderless design" with the huge fixed skeg in the stern.  Perhaps
the width and flare of the hull contribute to getting this thing fully
out of the water in a leaned turn, allowing the hard chines to carve
without being stopped by the skeg.  And I'm just wondering out loud...I
don't expect Matt to give up his hydrodynamics secrets if he doesn't
want to.

>I would think that a neutral hull would be better, so when doing a
peel 
>out into current, a downstream tilt would allow the hull to freely
turn
>downstream, instead of trying to turn the hull up against the current.

That's a very interesting angle.  I wonder what a Mariner does in that
situation.  I think the faster-moving water toward the middle of the
flow would still strike the bow first and bring it around whether the
stern was trying to carve or not.

Shawn

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Received on Tue Dec 04 2001 - 10:56:41 PST

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