Current Max/Min gate wifdth

[steve]

Lads, what's the current maximum and minimum gate width?

[Canadian Paddler]

Rule the 27.2 page 88
The width of the gates is 1.2 metres minimum to 3.5 m maximum measured between the poles. Poles must be round and 2 m. long by 3.2 to 5.0 cm in diameter, and of sufficient weight that motion caused by wind is not excessive.

Geek's United at your service

[Dutch Geezer]

Please tell us you had to refer to the year book and didn't quote from memory.

[FatBoy]

Could have told you the min off the top of my head. Never ceases to amaze me how many times one can fit a 2m+ paddle through a 1.2m gate and not hit it :p

[Canadian Paddler]

:rock: DG you are doubting my total recall of the yearbook?

OK I did look up the page and exact rule number, but new roughly where to look.

Fatboy, how old skool a 2m+ paddle? But thats one reason for Canadian - less paddle to hit gate with!

[FatBoy]

204 maybe old skool but maybe so am I? Got long arms though :p

[tinge of ginge]

Could have told you the min off the top of my head. Never ceases to amaze me how many times one can fit a 2m+ paddle through a 1.2m gate and not hit it :p

the idea of paddling fast is you have your paddle nere enough striaght or 45 degreee to get maximum power off your blades


always happy to help

[Canadian Paddler]

the idea of paddling fast is you have your paddle nere enough striaght or 45 degreee

But of course a 2m paddle at 45 degress is 1.4M+ wide, so still hits gates.

Us old timers learnt some maths at skool!

[Kev.S]

Nice one CP, a touch of basic trig. 2m x cosine of 45 degrees = a gate requirement with a width of 1.4142 metres plus. :p

[Canadian Paddler]

Cosine, or sine, depends which angle you are measuring (I know they are both 45!)

Or if you want to show off you can use pythagorus, to get square root 2 = 1.4142135623730950488016887242097 (ish)
UNLESS you allow for having a blade in the water. then at 45 degrees you can have 1.6970562748477140585620264690516 of your paddle out of the water. Even with 2m paddles that you would need to have almost a foot in the water. As I rarely put that much of a kayak blade in the water, and my kayak blades are more than 2m long, that is my excuse for hitting gates! :p

Enough of the silly maths do you think? Or do we go on with measuring accelaration in furlongs per square fortnight?

[FatBoy]

Alternatively to get a 2.04m paddle through a 1.2m gate you require an angle of 36.031879072470558370395367519708 or less to the vertical (assuming an infinitely narrow paddle)

I would prefer to keep both feet in the boat and not a foot in the water :p

[Canadian Paddler]

But of course as one of the paddles is likely to be at rightangles to the gate, the effective gate widh is reduced.

If we assume a paddle blade to stick out about 0.0000056 miles from the infinitley thin paddle shaft, and assume that the curvature of the upper paddle blade works in our favour to deal with the rounding effects above, we only have about 1,100,000,000 nanometres to play with requiring and angle of .57 radians to the vertical.

And there were 1.98e246873 angels on the last pinhead I counted before I lost my place. :rock:

[John Sturgess]

But of course you are ignoring the effects of the curvature of the earth and of gravity/atmospheric pressure
For instance the gate will be slightly narrower at the bottom; but the dimensions of the paddle will also alter slightly

[tinge of ginge phil]

look the gate need to be
| |
and you paddle can be
()-------------------------------------------------------()
or the gate
| |
and paddle
()
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
()
get the idea

[confused]

You lost me ages ago!!!!