RE: [Paddlewise] Feed the Need

What I liked about a drop skeg in the back of a surfing/travelling kayak was
that then you could have a kayak that not only could travel long distances
easily but could peel off the steep wave face at the last second before it
breaks (like a river or squirt kayak can do). With a Coaster you have to try
to time the break several seconds in advance to turn back off the wave you are
surfing on before it breaks. The Coaster was a lot faster than a river kayak
too so it had more of a tendency to outrun the wave face it was surfing down,
thus my wish for a little braking effect when needed to keep a faster kayak in
the sweet spot on a wave.



I had several other ideas I wanted to try in a surfing/day-touring sit-on-top
kayak such as a stern that would brake hard when the kayak was being pushed
backwards by a broken wave. It think this would help one punch out through big
soups rather than get surfed backwards (or rear endered) when it is so big you
can't punch through it by paddling hard. Maybe a big Kamm effect (squared off)
stern could be designed to make an effective brake to sudden backwards
movement once the bow has been lifted and pushed back by the oncoming wave.
Maybe a hinged plate at the bottom of the Kamm Effect stern that would swing
back out of the way when moving forward through the water but swing quickly to
a perpendicular stop position automatically if the kayak moved backwards in
the water at the stern. Or maybe the hinged plate could be deployed by pushing
on a third pedal and retract automatically. This might also serve as a brake
going forward if it could be partially deployed with a foot control when
surfing forward. Or maybe the two turning fins I proposed using as a forward
brake (in the last e-mail) when used together might also have enough angle to
them to also serve as a good brake if used together as one started moving
backward.



Any young kayak surfing dudes out in Paddlewise land want to make a surfing
machine that can also paddle well for long distances. Prototypes could be made
from plywood or door skins fairly easily. If so, contact me, I'm full of ideas
along this line, but I don't surf enough anymore that I'm going to build and
test such a kayak myself.
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