RE: [Paddlewise] Wing paddle and hull speed was (Re: Who Took Shaun White Sea Kayaking?)

Freya did mention that she has moved on from her skeg kayak days (I think NS
was done in a NDK Explorer with skeg). No, she still has one or more and
likes them but not for distance paddling. She does feel that one should have
the requisite skills to paddle without a rudder before delving into a
ruddered kayak. She made a point about that specifically. She did
incorporate her choice of kayak with other performance factors meaning there
was a decision process that reflected an overall approach to distance
paddling inclusive of a rudder but not limited to one.

Obviously her bias is for stroke efficiency and so the Epic with its
pivoting hull rudder which has a drop skeg housed into the rudder body gives
her the piece of cake while allowing Freya to eat it too (not withstanding
Matt's observations about wings and rudders and muscle fatigue, etc). He can
argue with her on that, I'll shut my cake hole here, as I _know_ I'm only a
mere mortal and do not want to be slayed by a Goddess. :-)

She did say that the rudder worked well and doubted an over-stern rudder
would have survived the surf landings on her trip. Embarrassingly (for Epic)
they shipped her one of the new Epic 18's with a regular SS nut on the
internal rudder pivot bolt as opposed to one with a SS nylock bolt it should
have had, meaning she had rudder failure at the most inopportune time (of
course!)forcing her into the water I believe, though the resultant noisy
rudder, she felt, serendipititiously made a banging noise that repelled
sharks. I didn't agree whole heartedly, given the large set of teeth marks
on the stern of her kayak (I think she had the new one at that point). I
_do_ know that if I wanted to sabotage her voyage for some sick reason, any
subsequent CSI-like investigation would have found the perfect plot - yes,
not using a nylock bolt. Fortunately, Epic did come through for Freya in
many other ways, though Matt would probably think any long, ruddered kayak
would be sabotage. :-)

I spent some time with Daniel (of PW) Saturday morning helping him a bit
work on his Greenland SOF at Nomad Boat Building in Victoria (I was also
interviewing him on an incident off Trial Island last year involving a large
number of kayakers in the water). He's setting off on a really big trip
soon, though he will be paddling an SOF Baidarka he made, which I attended
the launching a few weeks ago. No rudder, Greenland stick, light, fast,
responsive. An interesting choice. Unlike many expeditioners, he will
ostensibly be more in tune with the ocean, its movements, the subtleties of
edging and hull responsiveness.

Though the Baidarka is a bit more of a van than some other SOF designs,
consider the seas and distances this ancient design excelled through. This
is no WG Fiord cruiser. I know Jim speaks highly of the Baidarka. Perhaps a
most excellent choice for Daniel. And that is what it is all about. Choice.
Not what Matt feels is best, not what I prefer, not what Craig advocates.
Freya's choice was hers, with reason. Paul Caffyn had a limited choice at
the time of his paddle around Australia, though it is amazing he managed for
so many miles with that shovel of a wooden paddler, which just goes to show
you what it all really comes down to as has already been mentioned. 

Doug Lloyd   

  


On Sun, Feb 21, 2010 at 5:01 PM, Paul Hayward <pdh_at_mmcl.co.nz> wrote:

>
> Maybe those who prefer to omit the rudder are just more interested in the
> sea itself and playing with the movement of the boat in the water, while
> those who prefer to rudder are just more interested in interacting with
the
> land, by way of the sea - they are a bit (or a lot) more
destination-driven
> or focused on sight-seeing land features.
>
> I wouldn't disagree with this (although I suspect some could). I
especially
like the phrase "more interested in interacting with the land, by way of the
sea". This doesn't answer the question for everyone but I bet it comes
pretty close for a lot of us. This also addresses the difference between
those who think "performance" means "able to respond quickly to paddle
strokes" and those who think it defines how fast a kayak can move from edge
to edge and respond to the changes in the waves.

Thanks, Paul. :)


Craig Jungers
Moses Lake, WA
www.nwkayaking.net
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