Joined
·
2,852 Posts
Quite the entertaining video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lORyUMUUIxM
The question of stability is often asked by newcomers to small boating whether it be a canoe or kayak.
The problem this fella was having was not in the stability of the yak. It was his perceived instability. He couldn't control his internal gyro. His brain just took over. Granted this was not the greatest hull for a first timer but had he stayed in that boat 30 minutes or so the video would have gotten less funny as time elapsed.
I've built boats that at first felt unstable but after a few minutes of just relaxing and adding more and more movement over the next 30 minutes you learned that it simply was not the case. It was way more stable than it initially felt.
People ask, can you stand up in it? You can stand up on most fishing sit ons. Maybe not the first day.
It's like a skate board or roller skates. You probably weren't upright as much as you were sprawled out in the beginning. As you became accustomed to this new world your "internal gyro" was learning and your body was becoming accustomed to the feel as well.
Probably the best example I have personally experienced was at the Raleigh Racket Club in their winter time blow up court. It's basically a big tent that fans keep inflated and keeps the clay courts dry.
Every year I had to go hang the lighting in the ceiling of this great big tent. All you could get in there was a little one man electric lift.
As you powered up you were fine as long as you stared straight ahead. If you looked up at the white tent with the curvature your body would completely take over on it's own doing exactly what this guy was doing in the yak. It was hilarious if you were the guy on the ground looking up at the crazy guy in the basket. I had one helper that made it 15 feet up, froze, and came back down. He thought he was a 100 feet off the ground. He was very lift experienced. Just not in that setting. So Pops, as in me, had to do the hard work.
So once you got 40 feet up it was time to hang a light which meant atleast one hand had to come unattached from the lift. Then you had to look over your head to hang it. You were dealing with an optical illusion and the sensation of falling backwards because of the curvature of the tent. You pretty much got a little more comfortable on hanging the last light. That whole experience was a tough row to hoe the first coupla times until you learned to control your body instead of letting your body control you.
You have voluntary and involuntary actions associated with the brain. Involuntary would be breathing. Our brain handles that. Lifting an arm would be voluntary. Pretty much what happens is that the brain starts controlling voluntary function.
What feels tippy to you may be stable as a rock to me. I've become accustomed to the feel and know that it's only a feeling and it's not going to dump me unless I get careless. I would venture to say most people given time can work it out. Keep your head within the center line of the yak. The body follows the head. If you let your head wander over to starboard, your body will follow. It wanders too far to starboard and you'll roll right over. This can happen standing in your living room or on a dock. Babies learning to stand have to master head control in order to achieve balance.
For me personally, I don't want the most stable boat out there. There is a trade off in boats. If you want a rock steady boat, it's going to be like paddling a rock or a dock. You give up performance. Not a big deal if you have a 150 horse 4 stroke bolted on the rear, but it is a big deal if you have to paddle that thing a dozen miles or have to paddle against wind or current to get home.
Don't judge a yak by the first feeling you get when you sit in it especially if you are new to yakking. Spend some time with it if you have the opportunity to do so. She might settle right on down and you'll have a decent hot rod to boot.
The question of stability is often asked by newcomers to small boating whether it be a canoe or kayak.
The problem this fella was having was not in the stability of the yak. It was his perceived instability. He couldn't control his internal gyro. His brain just took over. Granted this was not the greatest hull for a first timer but had he stayed in that boat 30 minutes or so the video would have gotten less funny as time elapsed.
I've built boats that at first felt unstable but after a few minutes of just relaxing and adding more and more movement over the next 30 minutes you learned that it simply was not the case. It was way more stable than it initially felt.
People ask, can you stand up in it? You can stand up on most fishing sit ons. Maybe not the first day.
It's like a skate board or roller skates. You probably weren't upright as much as you were sprawled out in the beginning. As you became accustomed to this new world your "internal gyro" was learning and your body was becoming accustomed to the feel as well.
Probably the best example I have personally experienced was at the Raleigh Racket Club in their winter time blow up court. It's basically a big tent that fans keep inflated and keeps the clay courts dry.
Every year I had to go hang the lighting in the ceiling of this great big tent. All you could get in there was a little one man electric lift.
As you powered up you were fine as long as you stared straight ahead. If you looked up at the white tent with the curvature your body would completely take over on it's own doing exactly what this guy was doing in the yak. It was hilarious if you were the guy on the ground looking up at the crazy guy in the basket. I had one helper that made it 15 feet up, froze, and came back down. He thought he was a 100 feet off the ground. He was very lift experienced. Just not in that setting. So Pops, as in me, had to do the hard work.
So once you got 40 feet up it was time to hang a light which meant atleast one hand had to come unattached from the lift. Then you had to look over your head to hang it. You were dealing with an optical illusion and the sensation of falling backwards because of the curvature of the tent. You pretty much got a little more comfortable on hanging the last light. That whole experience was a tough row to hoe the first coupla times until you learned to control your body instead of letting your body control you.
You have voluntary and involuntary actions associated with the brain. Involuntary would be breathing. Our brain handles that. Lifting an arm would be voluntary. Pretty much what happens is that the brain starts controlling voluntary function.
What feels tippy to you may be stable as a rock to me. I've become accustomed to the feel and know that it's only a feeling and it's not going to dump me unless I get careless. I would venture to say most people given time can work it out. Keep your head within the center line of the yak. The body follows the head. If you let your head wander over to starboard, your body will follow. It wanders too far to starboard and you'll roll right over. This can happen standing in your living room or on a dock. Babies learning to stand have to master head control in order to achieve balance.
For me personally, I don't want the most stable boat out there. There is a trade off in boats. If you want a rock steady boat, it's going to be like paddling a rock or a dock. You give up performance. Not a big deal if you have a 150 horse 4 stroke bolted on the rear, but it is a big deal if you have to paddle that thing a dozen miles or have to paddle against wind or current to get home.
Don't judge a yak by the first feeling you get when you sit in it especially if you are new to yakking. Spend some time with it if you have the opportunity to do so. She might settle right on down and you'll have a decent hot rod to boot.
