: but it was still hard to keep upright unless you where really moving.
: And yes I was looking at the shear depth and it seemed like it was
: going to be great... I am hoping someone else has encountered this
: problem and found a fix and can help me out. It is really embarassing
:to have everyone ohh and ahh your boat but never see you in the water.

: I am now in BC and very excited to start working on another
: but am desperately seeking the secret ingredient.

: Aaron McConnell

The secret ingredient to ensure stability is ballast.

Is ballist a dirty word?

Why has this simple concept been so ignored?

Do we think we are better paddles if we can paddle unstable
kayak designs without the ballist they were originally intended to use?

Native paddlers built work boats to carry a load,
and to be a work platform. They used ballist to make
kayaks stable.

Pleasure boaters have taken designs meant for one purpose
and use it for another.

With small solo boats, small design, or use changes have profound results.

I've been an avocate of light-weight boats all my career.

A light-weight boat is more responsive to turns and maneuvers because
there is so little inertia at the bow and stern to overcome.

However, as small boat weight approaches 30 pounds or less
the boat also has very little inertia to tipping forces. All the weight
is in your upper body and you can be balancing with the equivalent
feeling of someone riding a unicycle.

Paddle that light-weight boat in rough water and you're doing
the land equivalent of riding a unicycle on a mogul ski hill!

Certainly, this can be done, many of us have done this, but is it fun, for everyone?

Ballist shifts weight to the hull bottom increasing stability dramatically.

Ballist must be immobilized, fixed to the hull bottom next to the bulkheads,
outside of the cockpit area, so it does not become a liability by shifting
in rough water or during capsize.

So why build a light-weight boat and add weight?

Adding ballist to the center hull bottom, increases stability without reducing
handling characteristics significantly. It improves the ease of leaned turns and
rolls significantly!

Ballist makes the boat ride more comfortably in rough water.

If you're a young buck who likes to ride a high wire you can paddle an
unstable kayak and have fun, just like the down hill unicyclist!

If you want more comfort and stability add some ballist.
You may not need much. Two ten pound weights on each
bulkhead will make a big difference. You can add or subtract
weight to see what works for you.

However you MUST buy or build a ballist system
to keep the ballist immobilized, so it does not become a liability.

I'm finding as I get older, comfort becomes a bit more important.

All the best,
Rob