....stuff deleted
More rocker.

Adv. More responsive to leaning and paddle strokes.
Disadv. Less forgiving of unintentional variation in body position and
paddle stroke.
Disadv. More prone to weathercocking.

....more deleted

Weathercocking: The tendency for the boat to turn into the wind. While
this
is often referred to in the negative, it is not necessarily a
disadvantage.

Actually, it is. I have never, for any length of time, paddled solely into
the wind. Most conditions I've been in (up to 50 MPH winds, though generally
20 MPH or less), the wind and swell have not been perfectly aligned with
each other. Perhaps when one is out at sea and rebound waves (clapotis) are
less of a concern, this may be different. Generally, however, if you have
control of the boat, you are in a better situation than if the weather is in
control of the boat. For coastal kayaking, this means having the ability to
round a point and follow the coast rather than continue to paddle into a
headwind that will put you further out to sea to compensate for the poor
handling characteristics of the boat.

It seems to me that it would be nearly impossible to design a boat that is
not influenced by the wind in some way.

While this statement is true, having been in boats that have a very low
profile and which hug the water with such a passion that they are more
submarine than ship, I have to say that the wet ride is preferable to the
constant adjustments one must make for weather. As with any hull design,
this is a matter of trade-offs. No hull will completely windproof, but no
hull that has a high profile will be fun to paddle in difficult conditions.
Most boat designers offer a dryer ride, though many of the very long, very
narrow, British designs (VCP, Nordcapp) are designed to handle must more
difficult weather.

The choice, by design then, is to
design the boat so that it does tend to turn toward the wind. If your
intended course is into the wind, then this weathercocking would be an
advantage, would it not? This is where the skeg comes in. Contrary to
what
many believe, the skeg is not intended to increase tracking directly. It
does so indirectly by countering the boats tendency to weathercock.

....accurate statement on how skegs work deleted

Most designers add skegs and rudders because their boats are intended for
touring in moderate to calm conditions. Designs used by native tribesman had
no such design features and tended to be narrow, have hard chines, be 18+
feet long, and be very low in the water. Some had bifurcated hulls (which
seemed to keep the bow low in the water to avoid wind effects - as described
in the National Geo. presentation, "Baidarka"). None of these designs had
skegs because the hulls were designed for very harsh conditions and the skeg
would have added no performance advantage to the boat.


Upswept ends

Adv. Easier to roll. Boat is less stable upside down in the water.
Adv. Bow cuts through waves rather than punching through.
(Are there other advantages of an upswept stern? Cuts waves that
approach from the back?)
Disadv. Upswept stern is prone to weathercocking. Though a skeg can
largely mitigate this.

Well. That's the idea, I think.


The idea of the skeg? Yes. The upswept ends, however, do provide a bit of
windage to the hull. If you look closely at most of the "British designs,"
however, you will see that the upswept bow and stern is not pronounced when
viewed from in the water. The low volume of these boats means that the bow
and stern do not ride up the wave, but penetrate it (since there is a very
small air pocket in the bow, it provides very little lift). The waves flow
over the hull and those upswept ends (which seem higher than they are due to
the low deck height of the entire boat) are submerged and funciton much like
a skeg as it skewers the waves. This is a feature seen in many native
designs as well.

....stuff deleted

This is, by the way, how I understand things from what I've read and
experienced. I've only paddled a couple of these boats in fairly calm
conditions and for short periods of time. I am not kidding you about the low
volume and wet ride however. Fun, but dress for immersion as you will be wet
in these things.

Rick