Re: [Paddlewise] Secondary stability?

Just so we can pin down at least one date, let us introduce the term  
"Tertiary Stability" today, May 18, 2005. It only seems proper that  
if there is a "primary" followed by a "secondary" there must be a  
"tertiary". For the benefit of future stability historians looking  
back to today in awe; tertiary stability is the tendency of an  
inverted kayak to stay inverted and is measured in the minutes a  
kayaker must hold his breath before he is able deploy a crotch  
dirigible and effect a self rescue. This should be measured in  
thousandths of a minute. Notice that this performance characteristic  
is not applicable to kayaks paddled by women.

  While to some this may imply that there must be such a thing as  
"quaternary" stability, let me say right now that such a term would  
be pointless. There is however a "quinary stability" which indicates  
that if 5 kayak designers get in a room together, nothing will be  
decided.

Please save this email for posterity, one day it will be considered a  
sacred text.

On May 18, 2005, at 4:05 PM, John Winters wrote:

> Matt, if you are asking if I trust my memory I have to say, "Maybe".
>
> I wrote to a friend who has been around Canadian paddling longer  
> than me and he said he could not recall when he heard it first but  
> he thought it was in conjunction with  Sawyer Canoes in some way.
>
> I rarely keep any magazines or other stuff so I can't be of much  
> help. I do keep all my old design books and you won't find anything  
> about secondary stability in them.
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