Re: [Paddlewise] Better Edging

William wrote:

>Mark,
> 
>In the boats that you paddle, how many are soft or hard or multi-chined?
> 
>My Romany has a rounded chine transition, so it isn't a boat to 'carve 
>turns'
>in the manner of hard or multi-chined hull shapes.

My most recent experience has been with hard chined kayaks.  I do find
myself getting to one of the "click" points and not being able to make the
kayak go any farther despite lifting one knee very hard and dropping the
other knee almost to the hull.  Even with a Meridan SK (very similar to
Romany) I seemed to be limited in how far I could get it to heel without
leaning.  I did not have much time in the Meridian, so the  small heel
angle may just be a result of reluctance to really commit in an unfamiliar
and definitely different feeling kayak.

I was wondering if I might be missing something like a forward or aft lean
or maybe extra upper body rotation that would help me get more edge than
what I get from knee lift and side bend.  I tried some variations but
nothing really seemed to make much difference.

The Mariner Elan that I am paddling is so responsive to edging that most of
the time I get all the response I need.  It just seemed like I was getting
less heel than other people and I was wondering if  I was doing something
incorrect.   The only time that I seem to need more turning effect is
downwave in a short wavelength chop.  Sometimes I get locked into an angle
on a wave and have to wait for it to pass by before the edging seems to
take affect.   It could just be that  in the waves I am just too tense to
get even the small heel that I get on flat water.

Mark J. Arnold



***************************************************************************
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/
***************************************************************************