9/20/2007
For 2007 all I did was create a pair of 8 foot long by 8"
wide outriggers out of 2" thick blue insulation foam. They
are pointy in the front and cut off flat in the back. I
epoxied a 4" x 5" chunk of plywood into the top of the
center of each float, with a 3/8 bolt mounted in it. The
center of the floats are mounted to an aluminum tube, which
is mounted sturdily to the seat mount bolts on the kayak.
The backs of the floats are supported by fiberglass rods.
These are mainly just there to kep the floats parallel to
the kayak hull.
The idea was that just the
back of the floats would contact the water while I was
moving and would skim along the water in planing mode. to
accomplish this floats were mounted so fronts are up in the
air at about a 5 degree angle. This actually worked quite
well. I felt nice and stable at all speeds. The floats just
went tappetty tappetty on the water at high speed. Stopped
or at low speed, I could lean over on the float and it would
lay flat on the water and provide plenty of support.
This year I had the fastest
ever (recorded) time for the 2K
Hydrobowl
race. Almost a minute faster than last year!
Now I just need to cover them
with fiberglass and paint them.
10/10/2007
I have been talking to Rich Hodgkins about his Motion-Tech
Needle Surf-Ski. This is a 20 foot - 11 inch long, 16 inch
wide racing Surf Ski that because of a combination of it's
narrow width and high seat, nobody can paddle without
capsizing. It looks to Rich and I as a perfect candidate to
be HPB-ized.
Current plans are to create a
new twisted chain drivetrain that is lightweight and has
some adjustment for leg length, as this will be a "record
setter" class HPB. It will be used in combination with the
skimmer outriggers as developed for the Necky HPB.
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