RE: [Paddlewise] Loading & handling

Mark, I think you are making this far more complicated than you need to.
When in doubt "Read The Directions". According to the "Paddling" manual for
your kayak:
"When carrying a lot of gear it is usually best to balance it so the load
behind the cockpit weighs nearly 2 times as much as the bow load. The room
taken up for legs and feet make the bow load about 1-1/2 to 2 times farther
from the center of buoyancy than the rear load. Therefore, putting equal
weight in each end would sink the bow much more than the stern. The heavier
the gear load the greater the percentage of that weight that should be in
the stern. A kayak will track straighter and broach less in following seas
if stern heavy because the stern keel is deeper in the water than the bow.
Weathercocking in side winds is intensified when a kayak is more heavily
loaded. Placing the heaviest weight in the rear helps decrease
weathercocking. Even with the bow trimmed higher, turning a loaded kayak
into a strong wind is not nearly as difficult as turning an empty one can
be. The added gear weight prevents the ends from blowing around so easily.
It is not necessary to carry a balance scale along with you to pack your
boat. Approximations are fine, I just put all the heaviest bags, water, and
fuel in the back and the lightest bags forward.
    When loading a kayak, also make an effort to keep the heaviest items,
such as water, closer to the cockpit (but behind you) in order to retain as
much responsiveness to the paddle as possible. Separate your gear into bags
containing compact heavy items and bulkier lightweight stuff. Put the
densest items (like water) just behind the cockpit and the less dense bags
out towards the ends and in the bow. With a small gear load always fill up
any space you are not using for storage with partially inflated float bags
to maximize flotation.
    Just before entering any loaded kayak, check to see that it floats on an
even keel (side to side) or you will probably discover that it has a
penchant for turning towards the high side. Turn over a gear bag or move
some heavy items, like water, more to the high side."
To this I would add: With a gear load it will take far more weight shift to
effect the trim than with an empty kayak and given the space available it is
hard to make the gear load too stern heavy. If after loading a kayak stern
heavy it is still weathercocking don't hesitate to put a couple of 2 liter
coke/water bottles way back in the stern or do something else that moves the
heaviest weight further to the back. About 2/3 of the way through the same
"Paddling" manual are directions to the easiest ways for "Combating
Weatherhelm" if you find it affecting you. The manual can be found in the
"Manuals" section of the website below.
Matt Broze
http://www.marinerkayaks.com


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