Hi there, my post might be a bit long, thanks in advance for your time to all of you willing to answer.
I'm training on an old va'a from my club, that is a good glider, but has some issues I'd like to fix.
I must emphasis : If you think my problems could come from a lack of paddling skills, feel free to tell so ! (In a gentle manner, though !)
I'm not actually a beginner, but I'm relatively new to this sport, although I've try - paddled 5 or 6 different va'as and 2 or 3 different OCs.
I'm aware of, and used to specific va'a paddling, and a former kayak and canoe paddler.
Anyway, here it is :
The facts : 7m70 long, 40 cm wide, not much rocker. I'm able to push it in the range of 5 knots average, 7,7 knots top speed, on flat water.
The flaws :
1) Difficult to keep in line : slightly steered whatever side, will continue a deep turn on the steered side while accelerating, and become more and more difficult to steer back. I'v read that this problem appears when a boat or rocket (same physics roughly) is more stable on front than on back of its shape.
2) Very, very, very sensible to wheathercocking. The slightest wind has an effect.
From that is my point : It could be easy and not quite expensive to try this :
1) cut 40 cm in the bow, while cutting deadwood in the meantime to get a smooth arched bow (for now, the bow end is very flat and straight, a sort of "old design wave piercer").
This is an attempt at counteracting the tendency of the bow to "steer" from the front, giving erratic path.
2) cut 90 cm in the stern, to fix the weathercocking. This might create a transom end, as I won't reshape the whole aft hull to pointy end.
It should then come at 6m40, more balanced and easier to steer.
Any advice ?
Submitted by fabrice on Thu, 09/02/2010 - 3:24am
Just a guess but take a look at how it's rigged I’ve ridden ones that are rigged heavy and are hard to control. probably not but it could be steering, it takes some time to master. another option is to have a rudder installed. Or you could just use this for training and save for a new or even used one it could have better tracking.
#1 Thu, 09/02/2010 - 6:36am
Rigging is OK. The ama, though one of the old type (rather long and straight, more or less a downsized hull) is not heavy.
I can fly the ama on short rides (OK I swim a lot also !)
My rigging is positioned with a ruler to avoid non parallel hulls.
None of the other va'a I had the luck to ride gave me this feeling. That's why, even not being a master steerer I came to think it was the boat !
I know how it feels when a hull tracks well and is responsive to my steering strokes.
At last, it may sound awkward, but I have the feeling that installing a rudder would be much more of a betrayal to the original designer, than slightly modifiying an overall not so bad va'a.
Thanks for your concern anyway ! Enjoy paddling !
#2 Thu, 09/02/2010 - 8:44am
Have you put a level on it while sitting in it to see if you are favoring one side or the other? That might affect the tracking. You could also play with the rigging and see if you can have the ama toed in a little to help provide better tracking.
I think the standard V1 length is 7.2 m so taking it down to 6.4 m would be a pretty big drop in length even from that.
Got any pictures just for fun?
#3 Thu, 09/02/2010 - 10:06am
There are three (3) simple things you could try:
(1) Assuming there is enough leg room and the seat is adjustable, I would position the seat at various locations up and down the cockpit trying to find the best spot to sit for maximum control and power. Experiment.
(2) As a monohull canoe paddler, I'm use to paddling only on one side, and only paddle on the off-side when necessary to make a special maneuver or in the case of an outrigger, in very strong wind, paddle on the off-side for an extended period of time in order to counteract the weathervane effect of the wind pushing on the stern/tail. Depending on which is your better side (left or right), switching the ama to the opposite side might help? Experiment.
(3) Perhaps all you need is a small or medium size surfboard skeg/fin placed 50 to 100 cm from the tail? This should help you track better and offset the wind pushing on the tail. Most of all, it won't involve any cutting up the canoe. Doing this will perform the same task as those V-1s equipped with V-shaped rear hulls. For real windy days, I'd add an additional fixed skeg/fin directly beneath my seat (or area of maximum weight), which should really help the canoe from breaking away on a wave too.
#4 Thu, 09/02/2010 - 1:10pm
Great answers here !
I really appreciate the time you take to find a new approach.
I should try this easy stuff before going on hard work and mods.
Many thanks !
#5 Thu, 09/02/2010 - 10:27pm