Michael Daly wrote in message
...
On 29-Jun-2004, "Mike Hackett" wrote:

I've gotten the
impression the Caribou is a little bit more of a natural upwinder than
many.

I should have paid more attention to the fact you're talking about a
Caribou S.
The Caribou S doesn't use a fin skeg and the hull is a significant V
shape. As
such, with a bit of ballast in the rear it doesn't even need a skeg.
Since
it's less dependent on the skeg, no matter what setting you use, it will
result in a less noticable change in performance than some other kayaks.
Try shifting some weight to the rear and skipping the skeg.

Huh, looks like a fin to me, kinda triangle-shaped. Whatever.

I do have to try the ballast technique, since many that have one of these
without the skeg say that's all it takes. I'm a bit skeptical, since those
skegless people can't actually be too objective about it, now can they? I
really don't want to end up doing that since it's just more to hassle with,
I don't want to transport it or hump it on my shoulder with that extra
weight in there. My kayaking consists of nothing but unloaded few-hour
trips, no expeditions.

I'm also wondering what detriment paddling that extra weight around is when
you don't really need it. And exactly how much it changes the attitude of
the boat, does it assume a goofy bow up/stern down angle.

Mike