> Could people who have Greenland style boats like the Tern please comment
> on tendancy to get pushed around by the wind or waves when they are not
> taken head on?

> Is this just a function of the bow and stern sticking up fairly high out
> of the water?

> Thanks, Pete czerpak Albany, NY

> Ps. still pondering a decision to build a Shearwater greenland style
> boat.......

Pete,

My Arctic Tern does not weathercock, it will get pushed sideways (due to high freeboard) in strong winds, but it is nicely balanced and strong tracking, so it does not turn into the wind (or away from it). I actually raised the bow on my second Walrus to reduce weathercocking, the first one would turn into the wind, I am hoping that the change will take care of this problem, but I have not had the second one out in strong winds yet. It also weighs 7 lbs. less then the Tern so it gets blown around more.

I'll give you the basics on what I understand about weathercocking.

Kayaks that suffer from weathercocking usually turn into the wind. The trick is to balance the kayak so that the wind and water will have equal effects on both the bow and the stern. Weathercocking can be changed by moving the center of gravity for or aft in a kayak, so cockpit/seat placement can change it. To get a kayak to not weather cock you have to look at the shape above the waterline, below the waterline and the center of gravity. A kayak with a lot of freeboard will be effected by the wind more but you can negate weathercocking by working the the above items. The Arctic tern has done this, if you have enough weight(over 150 lbs.) in the it.

Sorry, I don't know how the Merganser performs.

Hope this helps, Mike