What will OC1 paddling be like in 2020 and beyond??

i remember reading a good article on y2kanu awhile ago about paddling in 2020--- anyone have the article or a link?

#1 Mon, 03/06/2006 - 9:06pm

I think changes will be made to both the hull design above the water line and below the water line to decrease perling and increase speed on bumps. Perhaps a larger volume in the nose above the water line coupled with a bow deflector-like design above the water line may help to decrease perling without increasing the surface area of the hull and drag.

Another idea is to create seperate bulk head in the nose area in front of the peddles and to mount the nose on a hinge so that you can change the keel for flatwater, small bumps and large bumps? John Martin incorporated this into his prototype when he was experimenting with what amount of keel would work on a prototype he was building. You could then have a canoe that can be modified to fit the conditions.

I'd also like to see changes made below the water line to increase lift at speed for some of the boats. The old banana-like hull design that everybody uses works but I wonder if there are any other radical designs that would increase lift and decrease drag? Perhaps some bumps in certain areas might work.

I also think a lot can be done with our rudder design and systems. I mean, who says we always need a rudder? And who says the rudders have to be 3/8" thick? The flat water boats don't have 'em so why shouldn't we have OC1 that have retractable or adjustable rudders that can be manipulated so that the depth can be changed depending on the water conditions or automatically retract with the movement of your feet. When you think about it, except for leverage, we barely use our legs to propel us foreward. Why not put our legs to work on an active rudder system?

On a lighter note, a friend of mine and I were joking around about putting a mini sail on the canoe for windy conditions, putting a spoiler on the back of the canoe just like those ricers andr wearing XXXL rash guards with big web-like, flappy underarms to catch wind during windy days.

Snarfblat

#3 Tue, 03/07/2006 - 7:48am

everyone will be paddling WAVEBLADES.

#5 Thu, 03/09/2006 - 1:39pm

Hulls have morphing capability for different conditions by sensing hull pressure.
Kai and Lauren's daughter beats all men at 15 -- siblings in top 10.
Pat Dolan vs Karel Jr for 13th molokai win or 2nd place if above holds true.
Professional tour of paddling.
Paddling on the xbox 1020 and sony ps5.
Oahu to Kaua'i race for those ultramarathon type.
Tour da chain - Big Island to Kaua'i (or just Oahu) race televised & webcast worldwide.
Stand up paddling with foils breaks molokai record for human powered craft.
OCPaddler merges with Google.

Sounds about right to me.

#7 Fri, 03/10/2006 - 10:06am

leave it to snarfblat to get all technical and serious. it doesn't matter what you all think about the canoes cause if we as humans keep doing what we are doing to our waters (cough cough pfleuger) it'll be too dirty to do anything in 20 years. Well maybe more like 40 years.

#9 Tue, 03/14/2006 - 1:05pm

yeah, poopoo. You heard the man, I'm on it....uh....er. whatever it is that I'm on.

#11 Thu, 03/16/2006 - 11:40am

When thinking about the future of outrigger paddling, it’s hard to know what to hope for. I mean, sure, it’s really cool when a deep-pockets sponsor kicks down some freebies. Everybody likes to check out new hardware. And it might be interesting to see what a real professional paddler (no day job) could do.

On the other hand, the soul of the sport is one of its most important aspects, and the first thing to go if we get all professional and stuff. You’re never going to golf against Tiger, but you can race Junior or Kai or any of the top dogs just by paying a pretty modest racing fee. No, you nevah win, but you can line up with the very best in our sport just ‘cause you want to.

I’d also hate to see our sport end up like all the others. In the 80’s, a mountain bike was usually a cruiser with a derailleur and maybe some extra welds. It was a pretty small group of athletes racing them and good times if you happened to be in on the fun. Now, if you want to play, the bikes cost serious money and the pro circuit is just for spectators. Every year, the industry tries to tweak some minor design feature and play it up like you’ve GOT to have it or you can’t compete. The pressure to buy a new bike every year, which can be $3,000 easy, doesn’t make the sport any more fun.

It’s really cool to watch the professionals do their thing, but that starts to make mountain bike racing more like a spectator sport, and we don’t need any more spectator sports. Most adventure sports end up that way. Besides mountain biking, snowboarding, rock climbing, and even whitewater kayaking have all gone commercial. They’re giant industries. What if outrigger ends up like the granddaddy of lost-soul sports, surfing?

Neh – the future might include some really cool hardware, and some really fast athletes, but I’d try to appreciate where we’re at right now. “Success,” as the industry would define it might not be success as the people in the sport now would define it. In 2020, you might be remembering 2006 as the time when there was still a paddling community and when the sport was still fun.

#13 Thu, 03/16/2006 - 2:36pm