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Old 07-12-2006, 02:03 PM   #18
NightWing
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Quote:
Originally Posted by hazelnut
As for Nightwing's comment "and is supported 100% by the water rather than sitting in a rack with point contact." A rack is the exact same "contact" with your boat as a trailer. Also we all pull our boats for the winter don't we? They usually end up in a rack or a trailer right? So as far as point contact goes it is a non-issue.
Yes, point contact is an issue. In the water, every square inch of the hull below the waterline is 100% supported with equal pressure..............ideal conditions.

In a rack, or on a trailer, you have point contact. True, several points or even many points of contact. The trailer has bunks or rollers or a combination. Each roller is a point of contact, each bunk is a point of contact, even if the point is as long as the bunk. Unlikely, since hulls are formed with a series of curves and are seldom flat enough to completely touch a bunk with equal pressure its whole length. A bunk is but a long point.

Racks are usually even less support than a trailer with many rollers. Yes, they do a good job of keeping a boat stable and trailers will allow transportation of the boat over land, and even a place of storage off season. However, the best racks and the best trailers do not support the hull as well as water. Since we can't leave our boats in the water all year, we must use a rack or a trailer during the off season, and likewise must employ those methods during boating season if a slip is not available.

Picture yourself completely relaxed floating on your back in a pool. Your body is 100% supported by the water. You feel no pressure points anywhere on your person. Now, get out of the pool and dry off. Then stretch out an a couple of boards with a few blocks of wood under your heavy parts. Maybe a few rolling pins here and there. Want more? how about we add a steel beam with a piece of worn out carpet in the mix. Spend 15 minutes like that and then come back and say that point contact isn't an issue.

I guess if boat hulls could get bedsores, they would show on the points of contact. LOL!!
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