Drift Sox

[gsellers1245]

I have notices that weight has a factor while drifting. Me and my brother both have the same kayak and i weigh about 50 lbs heavier than him. Drifting cockroach bay, i was left slowly trickling downstream while my brother was making a run for the groves. We both had the wind facing our left side and we had the same amount of gear. No anchor, no drift sock.

[DouGR81]

That's one thing I miss about my Native..drifts so slow even in the strongest winds

[pcronin]

I just stumbled across this...
I think I have a possible reason as to why the Natives drift slower...
The amount of water that a boat draws should have a drastic impact on the rate of windage drift. That being said, correct me if I'm wrong, but a Native will draw significantly more water than that of any kayak. Therefore, while the Native may be taller than a yak, it draws more inches of water than a comprable kayak, thus creating more drag, and slowing windage drift. Any boat that sits on top of the water and draws almost nothing will drift like crazy when it comes to wind. The case should then be the exact opposite when it comes to current drift, with the boat that displaces the most water drifting faster.
Pete

[Evan]

That being said, correct me if I'm wrong, but a Native will draw significantly more water than that of any kayak.

Natives don't really draw significantly more water than their standard SOT counterparts. Having paddled and fished alongside many different types of kayaks, we all seem to bump the bottom at the same time.

I think it's the "tunnel hull" design of the Native that makes it drift so slowly. They move forward and backward smoothly but really resist being pushed sideways. Perhaps the water inside the tunnel has the same effect as it would if the boat sat lower in the water?

[Rik]

Comes down to glide. Boats that glide better will drift faster. Think it has something to do with hydrodynamics.

I paddle a Tarpon 16, one of the best gliding SOT kayaks out there. (Kneedeep - notice I said "one of"). I, and others in Tarpon 16's, wind drift faster than virtually everyone else.

As to the Native, the tunnel hull creates two "sides" for the water to hit against when drifting sideways. One is the outside of the hull, the other is the side of the tunnel. Most all the tunnel hull - or pontoon hull as some manufacturers call it - designs act that way. The other part of the Native is that the higher sides tends to keep the boat perpendicular to the wind as the wind over powers any natural reaction of the hull to turn.

Most traditional hulled kayaks will either turn into or away from the wind and wind drift on a bit of an angle to the wind. This significantly adds in the glide factor. When you are perpendicular, there is no glide, just wind push.

Gotta go check out of the Holiday Inn Express now.....