Flat bottom vs Vee???

[Jimmy W]

I have never paddled a TV, but do have a Touring Pirogue-T. I am sure that the V would make it track better and add a bit of speed, but the Touring Pirogue is a nice boat as it is.

[craiggamesh]

I love my touring pirogue just the way it is with no keel. I have not had any problem with tracking. However, I have only had it on rivers and small to mid-sized mountain lakes.

[slider]

Thanks for all of the input, I will continue building with only changes being the length I have already changed. Out of town for a week so it will be at least that long before I get back on "the project".

[jbo_c]

Just shift your arse to the upwind side an inch or two and you're paddling a vee bottom boat . Won't fix everything, but softens the waves enough to make a difference. Takes a little practice to find the right balance.

[Kayak Jack]

Slider,

I am not discussing the design of the boat you are presently building, nor am I critiquing the design. This input may be something you don't need, but I'll give it for more background. Bottom design is often tailored to the kind of water to be paddled, performance desired, and personal preferences.

Flat bottoms tend to have a lot of initial stability, and very poor secondary stability. That is, they feel solid at first, but if leaned over they break and tip instantly. They draw the least water, in general, and if pushed over an underwater log, they don't rock back and forth. When a wave passes under a flat bottomed boat, they rock back and forth a lot.

A vee bottom tends to track straight strongly, and has less wetted surface than a flat bottom. They draw more water, rock if dragged over a log, but go faster than a flat bottomed boat. A wave passing under it will promote moderate rocking.

A semi-rounded bottom boat has yet less wetted surface than a vee, is faster, draws more water, and rocks if dragged over a log. They are very stable in waves and even in quartering seas. They are generally the fastest hull design you can paddle.

What you want a boat to do for you will help in selecting the cross-section of a bottom. Each has its own characteristics. Use determines whether these characteristics are advantages or disadvantages. User preference helps soften impact of these characteristics, but they remain, nonetheless.

Ask Matt for help on this; he knows of what he speaks.