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Expedition Single & weathercocking - Followup
By:Dave Colant
Date: 5/2/2000, 4:56 pm

I recently posted about getting blown all over the lake by the wind on my maiden voyage. As suggested, I added some cargo weight and tried again. The difference was amazing! I filled two 2-liters with water and added it to bow, one 2-liter in stern. Can't be more than 15 or so lbs, but definately made a big, noticable difference.

Secondly, it was said that the Exp. Single requires a bit of concentration when paddling. Having that in the back of my mind on this second trip proved useful too. I focused more on my paddling than usual and got better tracking.

At this point, I still think the boat could benefit from a more pronounced keel. The smooth bottom sounds like it would be great for surfing or spinning on wave tops, but does nothing to aid tracking. Adding weight simply put more of the existing keel into the water. A skeg or rudder, (to gain tracking) would just be doing what the current keel is not.

Finally, I still recommend this boat. I like it very much. Perhaps I'm asking it to do something it was not intended for. It seems to require a load for good tracking. When I'm out this summer on extended camping trips, no doubt I will appreciate that.

DC

Messages In This Thread

Expedition Single & weathercocking - Followup
Dave Colant -- 5/2/2000, 4:56 pm
Re: Followup - Experiment
Nick Schade - Guillemot Kayaks -- 5/3/2000, 8:48 am
Re: Expedition Single & weathercocking - Followup
Paul G. Jacobson -- 5/2/2000, 10:29 pm
Followup
Dave Colant -- 5/3/2000, 8:32 am
The Cooler!
Jim McCool -- 5/3/2000, 10:53 am