Re: [Paddlewise] Ferry Crew Rescues Seattle Kayaker - Update - Sponsons?

Dave wrote:

>>>>>>>>Too bad we do not have archives of Paddlewise. Derek's question is an
honest one, which in 1997 (1998?) led to the formation of this listserv as
an offshoot of Wavelength, owing to the incessant, overbearing promotion of
those devices by the owner of the rights to produce it. It is a long story
...

In brief, the drawbacks of the s-device under rough seas are twofold:

1. They are devilishly difficult to install under those conditions, to such
a degree that they almost need to be deployed before launching.

2. In heavy, steep seas, a "flat bottomed vessel," which the s-device
produces, is exactly what you do not want. Reason: the flat bottom
follows the face of the sea, and when a steep one comes along, the whole
arrangement can get flipped upside down, where it is actually more stable
because the weight of the upside down paddler functions as a keel. This is
the reason vessels designed to traverse the open ocean have deep-vee hulls,
and flat-bottomed skiffs should avoid steep seas..

I wish John Winters were contributing more often these days, because John
had a link to a very compelling video clip showing why a flat-bottomed life
raft might be better termed a death raft, because it does exactly what is
described in 2. above, in steep, heavy seas.<<<<<<<<<


Tim may think he has the sole rights to produce sp*ns*ns (and he may be
looking for these spellings now as well) but his "patent" is a joke and I,
among others have documented prior art of inflatable sponsons in use so if
you'd like to make and market some improved sponsons have at it. I made
sponsons and have dated slides of them in use long before Tim did and you have
my permission to make and sp*ns*ns if you wish. Dave is right about the many
downsides of Tim's sp*ns*ns but they don't have to be that bad and Tim should
have worked on the design of them to make them better and easier to use rather
than spending his time declaring the paddling world to be child killers
instead. Check out the much sleeker sp*ns*ns Freya has on her boat at
http://qajaqunderground.com/wp-content/uploads/0204-2-018-w.jpg  Made in
Germany I believe. They look like at least they wouldn't plow under the water
like Tim's do when you try to paddle with them in place (and low enough to be
doing anything for your stability).



I recall John Winters writing that due to the rotating action of the water as
a wave goes by a wide flat bottom kayak does not have nearly the destabilizing
effect that Canoe and Kayak magazine critisized wide flat bottom canoes for. I
believe he was correct in that the wave motion creates an artificial gravity
that tends to help the paddler being tipped by the stability of their boat. Of
course, all bets are off as soon as the wide boat is hit sideways by a
breaking wave. Then if you are in a boat you can't lean you are going to go
for a tumble.
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