Re: [Paddlewise] Feed the Need

Thanks Matt - sorry you went to so much work and could not share it with us -
you offer truly intelligent discussion and it is appreciated.

Yes, I can't find anything with the glide of my former heavy Nordkapp. My
current Nordkapp is almost identical in vintage but half the weight and just
feels a bit sluggish though it top ends better in a sprint. A lot of the
kayaks I've tried lately just seem to reach a wall. The Norkapps in general
are not necessarily a fast kayak by design but I feel I can always push them a
bit more without that steep wall. The Nordkapp LV even seems slippy through
the water and fast, if tender.

I got to admit I'm having a hard time finding a kayak that does everything I
want it to. I spoke with a top BC paddler today who was back east recently and
tried the Maelstrom kayaks I'd benn talking about and indicated I might be
disappointed. He actually was completely surprised by the P&H Cetus recently,
but I'm skeptical of something with potential for broaching if I'm goint to go
to a rudderless kayak. So, a couple of issues: I need fast and slippery and
responsive to edging and lean.

Doug Lloyd

  I wrote you a long detailed answer and when I was spell checking it this dog
I have named "Windows Vista" ate it suddenly. Vista does this to me often. It
disappeared in one quick gulp. If I run a cross it somewhere rummaging around
in the bowels of this dog I'll send it to you. Now you're going to have to
settle for the short answer. Just two days ago Vista ate a spreadsheet I had
worked on for several hours. It seems Vista has been trained to update at 3AM
whenever she was on watch then and shut down all bodily functions for a few
seconds and then being resurrected after making my spreadsheet suddenly
invisible right before my very eyes. It was a miracle I tell you, I didn't
have to give Vista even one command to help her know what to do. Once into the
rapture there was no stopping her even though my spreadsheet had beecome
"Saved" only a split second before. Truly a miracle.

  Glide is not important and is a poor way of discovering anything but how
much a kayak weighs and how efficient it is at low speeds (and therefore less
efficient at higher speeds than it could be). Sectional density is the main
criteria for gliding farther. How much mass is pushing through how small a
cross sectional area of water. So heavier means not only more drag but also
more glide. Fishform hulls glide a bit better but are also harder work at
higher speeds than swede-form. Shorter doesn't glide as well but has less drag
from friction (up to its hull speed anyhow). You will be fooling yourself
using glide as a criteria for selecting a kayak. Your Nordkapp would glide so
far because it was fine ended, long, fish-form (stiffer tracking), had a low
wetted surface (narrower) for its waterline length, but mostly because it
weighed a heck of a lot. Glide is about the only thing that got better with
age (as your kayak gained weight over the years).

  >
  > Matt,
  > The Legend is still a nice open water cruiser with the speed it can
deliver.
  >
  > On a bit of a different note, what gives a kayak good glide? Some boats
I've
  > had great expectations for are dissapointing when I paddle them; they have
  > what appears to be good speed and efficiecy energy expenditure at first,
but
  > whenever you stop paddling the kayak comes to a quick stop.Seems it is
more
  > with kayaks that carry their width further forward that the ones with
fatter
  > sterns.
  >
  > Doug Lloyd
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