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Re: Strip: gloss finish
By:Mike Savage
Date: 12/30/2012, 3:01 pm
In Response To: Strip: gloss finish (Robert Horstmann)

Hi Robert,
Fine sanding a kayak hull to improve its performance is a good way to build up muscles in your arms which might make you a 'stronger' paddler but any effect on waterflow on the hull is neglible at the speeds we move at.
Deliberate non-smooth surfaces have been experimented with for decades, copies of the shape of shark's skin for example. They work but usually for a specific speed range. Outside of that range, the effect is at best neutral, more usually there's some drag penalty.

Just as interesting was an experimental 'soft-skin' oil transport system. Basically a large sausage shaped bag filled with liquid (fresh water for the tests) that was towed by an ocean tug rather than building actual oil tankers. Using a comparable volume as the base for drag, they found that the bag had a much lower drag as it deformed, coke-bottle-shape effect, for minimum drag at its entire speed range.

Mike Savage
South West Cork

Messages In This Thread

Strip: gloss finish
Robert Horstmann -- 12/28/2012, 11:38 pm
Re: Strip: gloss finish
Nick Riccardi -- 12/29/2012, 8:24 am
Re: Strip: gloss finish
Al Edie -- 12/29/2012, 1:00 pm
Re: Strip: gloss finish
Scott Fitzgerrell -- 12/29/2012, 7:01 pm
Re: Strip: gloss finish
Bill Hamm -- 12/30/2012, 2:15 am
Re: Strip: gloss finish
Robert Horstmann -- 12/30/2012, 12:47 pm
Re: Strip: gloss finish
Mike Savage -- 12/30/2012, 3:01 pm
Re: Strip: gloss finish
Al Edie -- 1/5/2013, 9:00 pm