"Severn Clay" <severnclay_at_earthlink.net> wrote: >>>>>>>After a few months of paddling my Pygmy Arctic Tern, I'm generally very happy with its handling. It doesn't weathercock at all, though it has a slight tendency to want to point OFF the wind. Stability in beam waves is very predictable. In a following sea, however, the boat becomes very skittish and unpredictable, especially when I'm paddling down-current. Reviews of this boat mention this behaviour, so I'm guessing that it has something to do with the boat design (and probably something to do with my abilities, too). I'm wondering, however, if I can improve the handling by re-distributing the weight in the boat (putting a bag of water in the front or the back hatch, for example). Any ideas?<<<<<<< A following sea is likely to be the most difficult condition in nearly any kayak. I've paddled the Arctic Tern but I don't recall using it in a following sea (if I did it didn't stand out as especially good or especially poor or I probably would have remembered it. From the handling of the kayak I do remember, I'd suggest that you should be able to use its good lean to turn ability and its hard chine to your advantage in a following sea. Practicing in boat wakes or other following sea whenever you get the chance will improve your abilities there. Shifting ballast towards the stern will reduce broaching in a following sea but will also increase the lee cocking you say you experienced. I think your problem with lee cocking is also probably due to lack of experience quartering into the wind and not using the lean to turn ability of the that kayak to your advantage in that situation either (or the possibly Arctic Tern is too big a kayak for you). Severn continues: >>>>>>>>More drastically, I've also considered adding a small strip of wood(the thickness of a SOF wear strip) on the bottom of the stern to give the boat just a hint of negative rocker at the stern end (like the "s" shape of a Greenland kayak), not enough to actually be a skeg. The boat has quite a bit of rocker. Any opinions on this? How could I try this temporarily - carve a piece of wood and ducktape it to the stern?<<<<<<<<<<< That is exactly how you should test this out and if you like it determine how much to use and where to put it. Since you already have a problem with lee cocking you should also know that this will tend to increase that problem. I would suggest you put this extra keel in the stern quarter rather than back near the stern (which comes out of the water in a steep following sea anyway just when you need it). This further forward location will not increase the tracking (and lee cocking) nearly as much as more keel at the stern but could definitely help reduce broaching in a following sea. Matt Broze http://www.marinerkayaks.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/ ***************************************************************************Received on Tue Nov 05 2002 - 01:34:55 PST
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