: I have heard that traditional Baidarkas are very hard to turn. you must do a
: hard lean with your draw stroke. has anyone built the shearwater stich and
: glue Baidarka? how well will it turn?

You bring up an intersting point on design, which probably should be taken to the design part of this forum: The natural flexing tendency in a skin-on-frame kayak can be much greater than in a stitch and glue, or strip built boat. As a result, the design lines, which typically are drawn for an unloaded boat, are not necessarily representative of the geometry of the boat when it is in the water and loaded.

Even among skin-on-frame designs the construction methods will affect the performance. A boat built with ribs that are lashed to stringers and chines will flex differently than a boat built with trestling that is glued and screwed into place (like George Putz's Walrus).

If the flexibility of the boat allows the center of the boat to sag under the weight of the paddler, then the effective rocker of the boat will increase with the weight of the paddler. Also the center depth will increase.

What I am getting at, I guess, is that one design which works fine with certain materials may perform considerably differently when the same shapes are used, but the boat is made of different materials, or a different manner of construction.

Just something I was thinking about.

PGj