Re: [Paddlewise] Sponson stuff

From: "Matt Broze" <mkayaks_at_oz.net>

> Mike asked:
> <SNIP>>>>>>>Has anyone stood up in a heavily loaded kayak? is it
> particularly difficult to balance?
> 
> Is 100 lb cargo much of an upper limit on typical loads? (I've never
> weighed all my gear)  It sounds high to me.<<<<<<
> 
> Back when we began selling the first Mariner, around 1981, a competitor
> [...]

Thanks for the comments, Matt.
 
> Without checking Mike's math, I'll stick my neck out and say that his
> conclusions sound about right to me as to the relative stability of the
> different ways of stabilizing a kayak that I have experienced.

While I haven't worked anything out in detail, the conclusion I'm aiming
for is that if an empty kayak with sponsons is "stable enough", then
a loaded kayak is also stable enough without sponsons (and plenty
stable with sponsons).  My rough estimates suggest for several kayaks 
and sufficient load, this may be true.

If this is true, another conclusion would be that an empty kayak with 
a paddle float is as stable as a loaded kayak with sponsons!  

There are a couple of BIG assumptions here - I haven't worked out
the stability of a loaded/unloaded kayaks _without_ a paddler (the
condition where the paddler is in the water) and the condition
where the cockpit has water in it consistent with a wet exit and
recovery.  Both of these could change these conclusions dramatically.

Mike


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