Shawn Baker <shawnkayak_at_yahoo.com> wrote: >>I have to second Tom Yost's sentiment about folders. Why do they have to be big, beamy, stable and slow?[snip]>> >>Why a huge cargo-carrying monster for a day trip? [snip]>> >>I'm also a little curious why commercial folder manufacturers don't experiment more with different designs [snip]>> >>Feathercraft's Khatsalano and Khat-S are fun little boats, but why not pick up a little gear space as length instead of width, and you could have a great speedy boat for weeklong trips with maybe a little surfing or rough water play on the way!>> Shawn, I confess to be puzzled, also, about these issues. I suspect some of the reasons lie in market share and perception, and some lie in the limitations of skin on aluminum frame (or, wood) construction. Once buyers expect wide beam, high initial stability, and are more attracted to large volume than speed, that is probably what the market (i.e., manufacturers) will provide. Those who want narrow beam, greater speed, and less stability have plenty to choose from among hardshells -- and an enormous market share. The other reason may be in the technology: folders, even the best quality ones, rely on the integrity of take-apart joints for their strength, instead of the monocoque-derived strength of composite (or plastic) hulls. Especially in plastic, roto-molded hulls, a severe stress on the hull can deform it, but the hull can pop back. An aluminum joint can not, even though the hull material in a folder is extremely flexible and resilient. I'm not enough of an engineer to be sure about this last aspect, but maybe Schade and others might comment on it. I bet if you asked folder manufacturers if they would warrant their boats for use in surf you'd get some revealing answers. As for an apparent lack of willingness to experiment with new designs, I suspect that though the initial investment is low relative to tooling for composites or rotomolded hulls, the much smaller expected return (there's market share popping back into the picture) reduces experimentation, especially during times when the sales of new kayaks are way down. -- Dave Kruger Astoria, OR *************************************************************************** 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 Sun Mar 21 2004 - 03:50:56 PST
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