From: "David Anderson" <squtch_at_quiet-like-a-panther.org> > My biggest concern would be that if the boat ever does move from perfectly > vertical it would then try and stay in it's new angle. If you capsize it > would be a real pain to flip back up. Absolutely true. It seems that whatever anyone tries WRT stabilization (even sponsons) you get the same kinds of problems. It's better until something goes wrong, then it's worse. > I wonder whether it would be better to solidly mount the gyros or if it > would be better to do some sort of soft mount with rubber or possibly even > small shock absorbers to allow the boat some movement while still affecting > the stability. Dampened stabilization. Interesting idea. Just between you and me, I don't think anyone could get a gyro-stabilized kayak to work. Without doing the numbers, I suspect that the weight of the gyro would be prohibitive compared to the benefit (if not the weight, then the spin velocity required). However, the experiment for a student is a valid one. One thing that bugs me about this from my science fair days is a bias, conscious or otherwise, on the part of examiners to downplay the value of a negative result. That is, they seem to put more value on a result that shows something works than one that shows something doesn't work, even though scientifically these outcomes are equally valid. Given this, perhaps Robert and his daughter should focus on showing the _effects_ of a gyro on a floating object (kayak or other) rather than trying to show a benefit. A subtle difference, but meaningful in presentation. Mike *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************Received on Fri Feb 01 2002 - 11:30:23 PST
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