Matt says: "Ones goal should be to get twice as much weight into the stern as into the bow." Maybe that works as a rule of thumb. It is possible to carelessly induce lee-cocking. On day trips, if you just throw everything into the rear of the boat, the bow stays light, and the boat will be unbalanced. I suppose I could leave out the stove and coffee plunger, but then would life be worth living? I think it is useful to check the balance of the boat by lifting it. Straddle the boat, grasp it under the coaming at the CoB point, and lift slightly. If both ends come off the ground, OK. "I've seen all sorts of rudder failures in the wild. Either it is fairly common or I'm way out on one side of the bell curve with my experience with this." In fact, ask any kayaker with a ruddered boat, and they will invariably tell you a tale about when the rudder failed. That's not to say rudders are no good, just that you must expect them to fail, and be prepared to repair them while on a trip. The fastest paddling craft around, surf skis, use rudders. The extra drag argument has been firmly rejected in favour of rocket fast progress with a wing paddle, and using the rudder for direction. Same with flat water K1's etc. I notice long ruddered sea kayaks making very fast progress downwind when catching wind waves. The rudder allows the paddler to accurately align the boat once on the wave, and get a longer ride than if stern ruddering or otherwise correcting course with the paddle, which slows the boat. The drag of a rudder is less than the drag of a bracing paddle. Check out Paul Caffyn's view on this at http://www.sissonkayaks.co.nz/caffyn.htm. He reckons a rudder gave him increased daily mileage. I like a rudderless, skegless boat, but have to admit some ruddered boats work better in some conditions. I worry that any moving machinery on a sea kayak, rudder, skeg or moveable seat, is at risk of failing in the testing conditions sea kayaks operate in. What is the failure record for movable seats in Mariner kayaks? How popular are they among purchasers of Mariner kayaks? I confess to being suspicious of a seat that doesn't stay in one place in a sea kayak. Cheers, PT *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
At 10:15 AM 6/22/2004 +1000, Peter Treby wrote: Big SNIP > >I think it is useful to check the balance of the boat by lifting it. >Straddle the boat, grasp it under the coaming at the CoB point, and lift >slightly. If both ends come off the ground, OK. This makes sense, but the trick is knowing where the COB is located. Any thoughts? Bill Leonhardt *************************************************************************** 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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