Michael Daly wrote >I usually let it weathercock some and >take advantage of the wind and current >to ferry the kayak. G'Day Mike and Paddlewise, Does this mean you can use the wind to ferry glide as well as current? I love the idea of using weather cocking to good effect! I'm a bit confused on ferry gliding - is it simply using the result of the vector addition of the velocity due to water current and the velocity in the direction being paddled. Or is it something much more hydrodynamically subtle? In the situation Mike describes is it the result of adding the vectors of i) boat velocity due to the wind plus ii) boat velocity due to the water current plus iii) boat velocity due to the direction being paddled? All the best, PeterO (Some new Who's Who entries coming up soon after my exams - I promise!) *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
From: "PeterO" <rebyl_kayak_at_iprimus.com.au> > Michael Daly wrote > >I usually let it weathercock some and > >take advantage of the wind and current > >to ferry the kayak. > > G'Day Mike and Paddlewise, > > Does this mean you can use the wind to ferry glide as well as current? I > love the idea of using weather cocking to good effect! Absolutely - same effect and result whether it's wind or current. I rarely get to use current (except for rivers) since the currents on the Great Lakes are negligible most of the time (no tides). The best wind ferrying seems to come from conditions where waves are not as big as you'd expect for the wind speed. The very best wind ferry I experienced in a sea kayak was on a lake with very heavy wind and virtually no waves (very short fetch). I only had to paddle enough to keep my ferry angle and the wind blew me all the way across the lake. When I tried to ferry back the other way further down the lake where the waves were bigger, it was a lot more work. It may simply be that the lack of waves makes it easier to set and keep the angle. > In the situation Mike describes is it the result of adding the vectors of i) > boat velocity due to the wind plus ii) boat velocity due to the water > current plus iii) boat velocity due to the direction being paddled? Yes. The situation for wind is just like that of a sailboat - the force on the sail (in your case, you and the kayak) and the force on the keel add to give the resultant direction. In a kayak, you add paddle forces as well. 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/ ***************************************************************************
Peter O asks: In the situation Mike describes is it the result of adding the vectors of i) boat velocity due to the wind plus ii) boat velocity due to the water current plus iii) boat velocity due to the direction being paddled?>> Oh YEAH! It's called dynamic boat control. We paddle alot in the Columbia River gorge in BIG wind and medium current and take the speed of both the wind and current into consideration all day long. The summer wind flow is generally from the west and the current opposes, creating a scenerio where the boat is running with the wind, or just off the wind on either side, and ferrying in the opposing current. In the winter the winds generally come out of the east, so they compliment the current and nothing opposes. faster surfs with smoother swells. I helped develop the Tempest to excel in this environment. I'm working on another boat design that will take FULL advantage of the wind and current vectors. How loose can a sea kayak get and still be controlable. It's a BLAST! On Saturday we did a 20+ mile stretch from the dam _at_ Bonneville to Washougal, Washington. The east wind was steady _at_ 30 knots and gusting to over 40. seas went to 4.5' and the current probably in the 2-3 knot range. We do the run in 4-5 hours. It's 4-5 hours of "on the edge" kayaking, adjusting vectors and direction constantly! Proto-type testing is a tough job but someone's gotta do it! steve aldercreek.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/ ***************************************************************************
>> In the situation Mike describes is it the result of adding the vectors of i) boat velocity due to the wind plus ii) boat velocity due to the water current plus iii) boat velocity due to the direction being paddled? >> In a word, yes. All kayaks have some leeway in wind, which is the nautical way of saying that they get blown downwind. Neglecting current, which is easier to do where I paddle on Lake Superior than on the ocean, if you make a crossing between islands in a beam wind and keep your bow pointed toward your destination, as many novice kayakers do, your true course can be 10 or 15 degrees or more downwind of your intended course, at least at the beginning of the crossing. The actual course is curved, because as you get closer and closer, you have to turn your kayak more and more upwind to keep it pointed toward your destination. If you have a GPS unit turned on during such a crossing, you can actually see the curve in the track plot. Another way to check for drift is to keep an eye on the compass bearing to your destination. If it continually changes in an upwind direction, you know you are drifting downwind. To make a shorter, straighter crossing, aim upwind. Find the compass bearing to your destination, and then aim your kayak several degrees upwind of that. As a rule of thumb, I add about one to one and a half degrees for each knot the wind is blowing, but the actual angle depends on the susceptibility of your kayak to the wind and the direction the wind is blowing relative to your course. You have to keep an eye on your compass to maintain the correct heading, but if you hit it just right, your course over ground will be a straight line. Even if you are off by a few degrees, your course will still be straighter than if you don't compensate. In practice, I start with a heading based on my rule of thumb, maintain it using my deck compass, and use the "Go to" feature on my GPS unit to keep track of the bearing to my destination. If I see the destination bearing on the GPS start to change, I then aim higher or lower as needed to maintain it. As Mike implied, weathercocking turns a kayak in the same direction needed to compensate for drift. Your kayak's natural weathercocking angle might not be exactly the angle you need, but at least it is in the right direction, so forget about *completely* neutralizing it, and learn to use it to your advantage. Chuck Holst *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
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