Rocker/Trim | Page 3 | SouthernPaddler.com

Rocker/Trim

tx river rat

Well-Known Member
Feb 23, 2007
3,043
2
Waco Tx
I sat back and looked at this thread for a couple days and did some thinking about folks different views.
Here is what I came up with. For Beekeeper asking questions ,I think back when I was just starting and the questions I ask and wasnt satisfied with the answers I got. Bee there are very few things you can Isolate and get a concrete answer in boat design ,there are two many little subtle things that effect the boat. There are very few hard fast rules .
Seed builds some fantastic boats and has his views based on experience from old time boat builder and building there boats.
Jack because off his background in the service and working fore a government agency all his life wants everything bye the book and puts more faith in written articles than I do. He has built a couple boats that suite his environment
I guess I am the outlaw , My back ground is in design building and problem solving ,I am on a trip trying to build the perfect boat for ME and my inviroment.
I guess what hit me was we are talking about 2 things in all boats , nose down and rocker. and different things that we want out of a boat.
Well I think that is where the disagreement comes in
Perows or 3 panel boats are the simi trucks of the boat world they have a spot as excelling
on smooth low current ,tight quartered environment. carring heavy loads if you want
A boat that has a 2 mile an hour cruise is going to be effected very little bye design changes
also the shorter it is the less effect it will have.
My T-V is a Sedan it has some more speed and handling and will be effected more bye the same changes. 3 mile an hour cruise
Now the duck is the Ferrari of my stable any little change in design effects performance a bunch. 4 mile an hour cruise ,
You dont put a set of west coast mirrors on a Ferrari because it will have a major effect on
a 200 mile an hour car ,now on a Mack truck the dont have any effect.
The last thing is the motor ,you and me and how we paddle, and where we paddle.and how many boat handling skill we have.
A good example of this was Jack and My trip on the Brazos ,he wasnt use to the miles we needed to make ,reading the type river we were paddling . I was having a ball but by the third day I could hear him cussing ,dam rocks, and I hate this dam river and cant wait to get off of it.
My boats I design and the other boats I build from designers are meeting a narrower criteria all the time ,16 ft is as short as I want ,18 ft is as long ,asymmetrical,balanced decks and a low profile for winds,2 inch rocker in front 1 inch in the back, big cockpit ,large hatch openings and sealing hatches. The reasons ,10 miles is a short paddle,high winds and fast current, like to overnight and multi day camp and also cover a lot of miles.
Most folks on here dont want these things
So build for what you do.
Ron
 

beekeeper

Well-Known Member
Mar 4, 2009
1,917
59
Like Ron I have reread these post several times. I never intended to imply anybody's ideas are wrong. My questions were put forth for me to understand those ideas not to challenge them. I have not been able to express my ideas and questions correctly, so I will follow seedtick and also bow out at this time.

beekeeper