Which is bow, which is stern?

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Mikey B
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Re: Which is bow, which is stern?

Post by Mikey B »

I believe the little wings were to meet width requirements in a clever way and have a narrower hull...kind of like the Marathon racing canoes do as well.
Although the wings were left on some of the early squirt boats as they were cut down/modified slalom designs and the wings looked cool :D
woro90
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Re: Which is bow, which is stern?

Post by woro90 »

Thank you all for your advice and excellent history lessons. The technique used in reverse gates is very interesting, I must try it as soon as I learn to ride some real moving water (I'm an open canoe touring guy, I have no experience above WW2) and use pivot turns (it's my first boat with real edges).

I found that although I may be a bit too heavy and tall for such a C1, the stern doesn't rise from the water completely, the boat almost looks like it was designed to ride a bit bow-heavy. When I adjusted the improvised outfitting so that my lower back was directly against the cockpit rim, it felt and looked quite balanced, although still a bit bow-heavy. The only problem I still have are sore ankles, bad blood circulation in lower legs and (after a wild party) cramps in thighs. Who would expect it in a low kneeling position, pressed in a tight boat. But if I raise the wedges under my shins, the legs will get even less blood, and if I raise the seat as well, where are the advantages of a flat slalom boat if I spend most of the time upside down? Looks like I'll have to get used to it, the wedges under my shins are almost 1 1/2" tall when not loaded (made of expanded polystyrene covered in thin cloth to prevent leaving beads everywhere) and the seat is a 4 1/2" block of foam covered with two layers of camping mat (the cheap variety that did not work for camping so I cut it up). Two layers of camping mat under my knees, one layer and some XPS under the cockpit rim on top of my thighs (I have yet to find a way how to attach thigh straps without drilling). Looking at his instructions on proper forward stroke, I've noticed that Emmanuel Brugvin sits in his boat higher than I do. How common is this? I thought today slalom C1s have even lower seats than in the 80's?

My guess on shallow water performance is that when this design trend was new, not all of the boat designers wanted people to know why exactly the boat performs better, just that it does. So maybe someone made up a cover story. Because the hull does not care whether there are another six feet of water under its bottom or it rides in only a few inches of water, provided that the water displaced by the hull can be pushed away unobstructed.
Paddle solo, sleep tandem.
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