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Kayak and Canoe Design Bulletin Board
Re: More inuit rules.
Posted By: Nick Schade In Response To: More inuit rules. (Christer Samuelsson)
Date: Sunday, 24 October 1999, at 11:37 a.m.
If you follow the basic rules of what a kayak is: long, narrow, pointed at the ends; and bend wood in ways wood basically doesn't mind bending: long, smooth, fair curves; you will end up with a decent kayak.
As an experiment, John Winters had his wife, who has no interest in kayaks, design a kayak. He analyzed the resulting boat with his resistance prediction algorithim. His untrained wife came up with a design which would be competative with the Inuit designs he was evaluating at the time.
It is very easy to design a decent kayak. The basic shape of a kayak is so good, it is hard to go wrong. What following anthropromorphic measurements can do is make a boat that is comfortable. If you use body measurements to fit something to your body, you can expect to be able to make something that fits you better. However, there is no hydrodynamic correlation between hull resistance and the width of your hips or length of your arms. Just because something fits you better does not mean it will be more hydrodynamically efficient.
While you can optimize a boat design for your weight, the only measurement that is worthwhile for this is your weight. There is no one part of your body which you can measure with a ruler which will tell you how much you weigh. Since people tend to be different proportions, ie some people have long arms and short legs, or long legs and a heavy torso, you can not count on a set of measurement rules that work for one person to produce an optimized boat for someone else.
Using Inuit rules to design yourself a kayak will make a perfectly servicable kayak. It may even be a very good kayak. But how do you choose the particular set of Inuit rules you will use. Not all Inuit kayak builders used the same rules. You are just as likely to come up with a good set of rules on your own then by randomly selecting the rules of some little Inuit man who built kayaks for a set of needs and conditions which probably won't exactly match your own. When an Inuit wanted a faster or more maneuverable boat, he didn't grow longer or shorter arms, he changed how many arm lengths long he made his boat. He would modify the design to fit his needs.
You would be better off trying a variety of boats, determining which you like the best and deciding whether there is any room for improvement given your particular paddling style and modifying the design to suit.
> Ok Group this is going to create some strong feelings amongst You. If You
> follow the link You will end up in a site called Kayak way. This guy seems
> to know a lot of the inuit rules. What do You think, is it possible to
> follow his advices and make a drawing in order to build a stripper. Please
> understand that I dont mean that this will turn You into Gods gift to
> hydrodynamics. But will You get a decent boat.? It is a big site and it
> will take some time to go trough it. I cant find anything comercial in it
> and I sure hope You dont do either. Have a nice weekend. Chris.
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