Stan Gula wrote:
riverman wrote:
As for keeling...next time you are paddling, try an experiment, I
know
it will suprise you. Get a good forward head of steam with the hull
flat and level, take the paddle out, then shift your weight quickly
to
one side and heel it over. Watch what the boat does...its not what
you
expect.

I'm assuming you mean heeling, not keeling. I think I have a pretty
good
feel for the relatioship between surface area and dragg. As to
your point
about keels, I think we agree that they mostly are good for wearing
out and
hanging up (and keeping the halves of an aluminum hull together).
The same
thing is true of the semi-V hulls like the ones Mad River uses.

Um, right...heeling. And I'm sure you meant 'relationship', not
'relatioship' bseg. Anyway, other than the expected increased glide
factor, the boat does something else suprising. The footprint of a
heeled boat is not quite symmetrical...the side along the tumblehome is
almost straight, while the side along the keel is more rounded, making
a sort-of wing shaped footprint. If you suddenly heel over a boat that
is moving forward, it will slip abeam. Try it.

I never really could quantify the difference in behavior between
shallow-V hulls, flat bottomed and rounded hulls. I knew they handled
differently, but the effect all seemed to 'mix in' with other handling
characteristics, so I could not clearly isolate what caused what, like
all those ads seem to. But I do know that I like the behavior of the MR
Explorer (with its shallow V) much more than any other boat I have
paddled, and that little V in the floor makes it easier to bail out the
very last few drops of water that come on board.

What boat do you have, BTW?

A Wenonah Solo Plus (http://www.wenonah.com). I would send you a
better
link except their web site is all frames and they won't let you link
to a
sub page. Note that the narrow hull which makes flyfishing from the
center
seat easy. This is a very stable boat despite the narrowness. I
have lent
this to people who expect canoes to be tippy and they are soon
converts.

Very nice boat! I have a BlueHole 17A....a real riverpig when its
empty, but a very useful flat bottomed boat if you have a load of
camping gear, want to stand and pole or fish, or maybe throw a formal
dance with a few friends.

--riverman