Canoes ,Kayaks N stuff

I myself have difficulty calling this category boats at all. I appreciate that there is a lot of interest and there are many threads, I don't mind even that because I don't read them mostly.

But the technology of building this stuff is often worded in such a way as to suggest that it is the same but smaller or similar. Am I understanding correctly?

To explain clearer its like a Motor magazine and people writing in about a modified bicycle chain they have made.

Yes it goes on the road and yes it has wheels,---- but.

Perhaps some top class whiz bang designer could explain.

Again Im not suggesting these categories be removed or banned but I feel it is the wrong forum.

Please don't misunderstand me.

Which is the odd one out?--- concreted submarines, steel hull design, high speed ferry hulls, and pedal power canoe.


Of course it is the submarine because it goes under the water and not on top.

Which is how some people take canoes things, perfectly acceptable sea going boats with design parameters of a 60 foot cruiser.

It makes me cringe when reference to some canoe building flexible pedal powered propeller shaft could possibly be in any imaginable way have something to do with diesel powered transmission on a sea going boat.

 

What? This is Boat design. Canoes, Kayaks, and other small watercraft are classified as boats by their very definition.

This isn't supertanker desgin.net, or 60 foot cat motor-sail design.net.


Everything that is designed to move and float will share many of the same core aspects when it comes to design. They might not look the same, but you still have to go through the same sets of steps if you want something that works well.

Also, have you built a quality canoe or kayak? Have you used one?

 

Frosty,
Once you discover what determines how a small floating vehicle should be addressed, once that monumental achievement has been accomplished, what is your next venture? Suggestion: At what point do you finally call a person a passenger rather than a crew? Crack that nut and you can sit back and say it was all worthwhile.

 

The small boats paved the way for the larger ones down the course of history. Small boats are as close to building a yacht as some of us will ever come. Let us enjoy the ride and contribute when we can and learn from the shipbuilding masters when we can't contribute.

 

At least for me, the beauty of this place is the depth of knowledge available in the field of applied hydrodynamics of which all boats of whatever type are governed.

As for the philosophical question of passenger or crew, the boat needs crew to perform it's duties, among which may include dealing with various and sundry passengers.

But I most certainly see what Frosty is getting at, while a 40# rotomolded plastic lake toy is still a boat and still worth discussing from time to time it's not usually that interesting to me personally.

I am certain however that some cunning cutting edge ideas will spring from the minds of men who once took such toys well past their intended design parameters as boys, probably against their parent's explicitly expressed directions. Which as it should be, almost all of us lived through similar adventures.

 

I cringe when I imagine an individual burning 1000l of diesel in a boat for a weekend's recreation on the water. Been there and done that and is one thing I have regrets about.

I promote human powered boats. It is an area that has not been exploited to any great degree with modern technology. There is huge opportunity for this sort of boat and it already has more than half of the boating market by volume. So a boat design forum should reasonably have a good proportion of the threads devoted to this topic.

All the factors covering design of human powered boats can be applied to other methods of powering. There is no better way to understand the forces and dynamics involved than actually generating the power to move the boat. The engineering involved to get the best from a small amount of power is no less than that applied to diesel propulsion.

If you want a serious challenge see if you can top what Decavitator achieved - just under 19kts by a single person.

There is a great deal of interest in what human power can achieve. Look at the interest in elite sports and events like the Olympics. Look a the level of involvement in amateur level in sporting events.

I estimate there is greater interest in bike racing than motor racing these days. I know the Tour de France has huge following. Boats are only scratching the surface as far as human powered competition goes. Some good kayak events with growing numbers but not yet well known.

Rick W