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Kayak and Canoe Design Bulletin Board
Ever faster, by a decimal
Posted By: Pete W. P.
Date: Friday, 26 November 1999, at 6:16 p.m.
Hi folks,
Thought Id pass on something I read about streamlining. A cyclist wearing a latex full body "jersey", literally skin tight, was actually able to go a little faster as a result of something rather unusual. True, the latex itself is a major streamlining factor, but it was more than just slick rubber that was at work...
The "seam" that seperates the front from the back of the body suit was rippeled. These ripples were inline with the direction of the wind as it passed over the body, generally so anyway. Moving limbs arent static enough to make this perfect. At anyrate, what the ripples infact did was helped reduce drag by causiong little micro turbulences as it passed over around and over the suit. Drag was actually reduced to the point that the cyclist improvement in speed was measurable. THe implications of creating little micro-keels perheps just 1/8" wide at the hulls greatest beam might actually prove beneficial.
Just a thought. Not that I have the least bit of interest in trying it. The most dynamic change i can make is to drop 50 lbs!!!
Pete
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