Re: [Paddlewise] Excessive Weather Cocking (or is it Fairy gliding with the wind)

"Michael Daly" michaeldaly_at_rogers.com wrote:

>>>>>>But I wanted to slow down and paddle on one side.  Otherwise I
wouldn't have
done it.  I was tired and my left elbow was bugginf me.  Using the wind
was the best way to deal with it.<<<<<<

I wish you had told us this before. In your original post you wrote:

>>>>>>>>Under those kinds of conditions, I usually let it weathercock some
and
take advantage of the wind and current to ferry the kayak.  That way
you prevent crabbing to some extent.  You don't always want to
point in the direction you're going.
The last time I had a significant wind on my beam I played with the
skeg until I had just a hint of deployment.  That and paddling on
one side at a low tempo let me move in the direction I wanted with
minimum effort.  My speed in the direction of my destination was
somewhat slower than the others in my group, but I caught them once
we rounded an island and made for the final destination with a
tailwind.
Using the weathercocking in this way makes me wonder why so many
folks complain about it so much.  I honestly don't think I'd want a
kayak with no weathercocking; I find it works for me almost as
much as against.<<<<<<<<<<<

Had you told us you had wanted to paddle with one arm I would have read the
middle paragraph differently. In that case (using the wind and the amount of
your skeg deployment to reach a balanced position while using strokes on
just one side of your body to make progress in your desired direction) I'd
have said "What a creative solution to the problem". Your first and last
paragraphs from the original I quoted above however reveal a
misunderstanding of what weathercocking actually is and how it works.
Is it correct to assume you used both arms and also paddled a lot harder
when you wanted to catch up to your group in the tailwind. I suppose you
could have arranged to maintain a broach to one side in the following waves
and kept using the paddle only on your good side (to stop further broaching)
then too but you probably wouldn't have caught up to the group in that case.
Another possibility, use your paddle behind you as a rudder to keep your
kayak pointed directly downwind and be blown to the take-out with a minimum
of energy expended while protecting the elbow from overuse. You could
feather the paddle so that the blade in the air becomes a sail. It is
unlikely you would have caught your group this way either though.

>>>>>>The trim options were limited, since it was a light day paddle.  I was
edging anyway and wanted to minimize use my left arm - the latter
means the assymetric paddling options aren't useful.<<<<<<<

Don't you mean "symmetric" here?

>>>>>I didn't see much on your techniques page that give me evenly balanced
paddling
options.  Assymetric strokes, either by holding the paddle offset or by
sweep strokes, I find tiring.  Going faster is not to advantage, since
increasing speed is inefficient - it takes a lot more energy.  If I'm
not in a rush, I'd rather let the wind push me than work harder.<<<<<<<

I said my goal is as evenly balanced paddling as the conditions will allow.
Once you get into the higher numbered techniques to control weathercocking
asymmetrical techniques begin to rear there ugly heads (but in an easiest
first order, so you only do the minimum amount of extra work needed to solve
the problem).

>>>>>>>>>>>I can balance the weathercocking with a paddle stroke and still
get the
kayak to go roughly in the direction I want.  If I angle the kayak to
take advantage of the wind, I have to paddle to counter the downwind
motion.  If the kayak doesn't weathercock, I still have to compensate
for the downwind motion.  That work is there regardless.  The advantage
of the wind ferry is that the wind moves me while I'm doing it.  I'm
not worried about the speed - it's not a race.<<<<<<<<<

I'd agree with this except for the first line. You will need to balance the
rotational movements due to the wind/water couple with a lot of paddle
strokes not "a paddle stroke" because until you reach a balanced angle with
all the forces involved, weathercocking is a continuous process. It is not a
one time deal like an eddyline where just a stroke or two straightens you
out again and no additional correcting strokes are needed until you cross
the next one.

>>>>>>>>Unless I misunderstand you, it sounds like all those WW paddlers
that cross a
river on a ferry _without_using_any_paddle_strokes_ are performing
magic.<<<<<<<<<

I love to do that myself, however, it is you who seems to want to believe in
magic here. The WW paddlers do this by gaining considerable momentum (by
paddling upstream in an eddy) before ramming into the current rather than by
performing magic. The difference is that momentum is a very temporary thing.
It is perpetual motion that requires magic. You may be able to build up
enough momentum to let you ferry across a small river without using another
stroke (if you get the angles and leans just right) but at some point on a
wider river you are going to have to start paddling upstream to maintain
your position against the current to be able to take advantage of any
ferrying effect. Otherwise it would be perpetual motion, and for that you
would need very powerful magic indeed.
Ferrying (and also a rudder) doesn't work when you are not moving relative
to the water. I always chuckle when I hear the oft repeated phrase that you
need a rudder for winds AND CURRENTS. My experience, when paddling far from
shore (and other reference points), is that one of the hardest things about
a current is to know its force and direction (or even if you are in one).
While you are being effected by it in a major directional way it is not
likely having any effect whatsoever on how your kayak handles (except on
those relatively rare occasions when crossing and eddyline or turbulence
created by an obstruction). In contrast, the wind is constantly affecting
the handling of your kayak (both directly and in the form of wind generated
waves) as well as also providing a little (but very little relative to the
current) directional drift.

Matt Broze
http://www.marinerkayaks.com


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