Jeff Cooper of H2Outfiffers shared with me a simple analogy to explain weather cocking. A common definition of weather cocking is that “a boat moving forward points into strong winds”. I have heard some people say that wind pulls the front of a kayak. I have never felt wind pull me. Then I have heard that wind pushes the back of the kayak, and a lower volume stern will decrease its surface area. Wind pushing the back of a boat is an interesting idea when the paddler is of average size. On a sailboat, wind pushes the sail, and a person in a kayak is more apt to catch the wind than their stern due to their increased surface area. Unless the surface area of the stern is greater than the paddler’s torso. All of these aforementioned ideas can make a person’s head spin.
Thankfully, there is the picture of an icebreaker that can make weather cocking easily understood.
The front of an icebreaker is static. Behind the ship is a smooth waterway. The back of the boat glides free and this is where boaters steer their craft. Forward motion of all sea going vessels produces this effect. Wind always has the most push against the tallest and most exposed surface. The body is what wind pushes. The stern of the kayak slips downwind due to the push on the paddler. The person moving the kayak forward is the cause that produces the effect of the back of the kayak to slip downwind.
To compensate for this natural action use a: rudder, skeg, stern draw, and have your forward stroke looked at.
And then there are the other variables that can increase the apearence of weather cocking: current, flowing seas, hull design, paddler’s weight, how gear is ballence within the hull, the length of the paddler’s paddle, and the paddler’s forward stroke. All of these variables can increase the apearance of weather cocking. And we will explore each variable in future posts.
—Jeff
Filed under: Kayak, Kayak Safety, Misinformation | Tagged: H2Outfitters, icebreaker, Jeff Cooper, Kayak Safety, kayak skill, paddling, weather cocking, weather cocking effect, weathercocking
Nice post Jeff. Having recently lost a rudder in the middle of a stormy ocean swell I experienced first hand how nasty weather cocking can be, although this was caused more by wave action than wind. Either way it certainly made me work pretty hard on that forward stroke to keep me going in roughly the right direction!
Sean, you make a great point about wave action. In a future post I hope to distill how rocker and chines influence the forward motion of a kayak.
And you also make a good point about gear failure, and the importance of knowing corrective paddling strokes.
- Jeff