Tumblehome

[Jim Dodd]

There was some discussion here on tumblehome. Some for, some against.
Me, I like tumblehome, but not too much of it.
​ And it's more welcome in sit and switch paddling, than a canoe paddled in the healed style.

​ When my paddle strikes the hull, on occasion, instead of the gunnel, that is too much tumblehome.
​ It's probably not a big thing, just annoying to me. I find it more prevalent on the shouldered designs, than the rounded shoulders

Just my 2$ worth.(Inflation) Sorry !

​Jim

 

[yellowcanoe]

The purpose of tumblehome to allow a narrow enough paddling station to plant a vertical paddle

there are several forms of tumblehome

Flask shaped like some Wenonahs.. wide at the bottom. Do not like
Tumblehome gentle in some wooden ribbed boats that allow the hull to come off the form
Shouldered tumblehome which is essentially a sharp tuck toward the top. Flared hulls are incredibly stable heeled and shouldered tumblehome allows the boat to be flat and paddled with a vertical stroke and to be heeled almost to the rail and hold there. Bell/ Colden Fire series are noteworthy for this. Essentially a shouldered tumblehome craft is one with flare. Flare is good for waveshedding.

 

[Jim Dodd]

Yes. I agree
​ The shouldered tumblehome paves the way for more flare, further up the side. A big benefit, for healing a hull ! And probably a little more seaworthiness.

​ What brought this to my mind tonight, was paddling my Bell Wildfire. I banged the sides a few times. I hardly ever do with my strippers. Something I notice, every time I switch canoes.
​ This profile pic tells the story why I don't bang the sides of my cedar canoes.

Jim

 

[Guest]

Once I got a narrow solo with tumblehome, I was spoiled and didn't like solos without it. A short reach across the gunnels is a real treat.
Turtle

 

[Canotrouge]

My self, I don't care for them on a tripping canoe, but I like it on ww canoes.

 

[sweeper]

I'm learning to deal with my 1st narrow canoe with TH.

 

[stripperguy]

I'll take shouldered tumblehome any day! So nice to be able to lean into a firm edge. And the flare that it provides is great for added buoyancy and wave shedding. Take a look at my red Kite.

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My stripped DY Special was a beautiful hull, dare I say, sensuous? But those wonderful curves led to many baptisms.

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[Jim Dodd]

I'll take shouldered tumblehome any day! So nice to be able to lean into a firm edge. And the flare that it provides is great for added buoyancy and wave shedding. Take a look at my red Kite.




My stripped DY Special was a beautiful hull, dare I say, sensuous? But those wonderful curves led to many baptisms.

​ That DY Special looks like it has a pretty high seat. Maybe the reason for all the Baptisms ?

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

In general, I don't care for tumblehomed hulls. Their secondary stability is unreliable to downright flukey to pragmatically nonexistent. Flared hulls give tremendous predictability and stability in whitewater, in beam and quartering waves in flatwater, and for aggressive heeling maneuvers in all water. And just for FUN!

Unlike the Lotus Egret in the above photo, I do like the gunwales to be recessed with a very small and sharp "shoulder" by the paddling station, so the outer edge of the outwale is about an inch less than flush with maximum hull beam right under the gunwale. I call this a Galt or Deal shoulder, in which the gunwale width will be about 2" less than the max hull width.

Mike Galt Lotus Caper:

Harold Deal SRT:

The exaggerated tumblehome shoulder tuck on Jim Dodd's stripper and stripperguy's Kite, and even many of Yost's designs, are very unappealing to me for secondary stability and aggressive heeling purposes, and completely unnecessary to me for forward stroke purposes. That's because I've been a single-sided correction stroke paddler for 64 years, who values progressive, solid and reliable heelability-to-the-rail for paddling in waves and for turning. The small minority of time I do switch paddle, I have absolutely no problem doing so in a narrow solo canoe such as the Caper (max. width 27.25", gunwale width 25.0") or the SRT (max. width 28.5", gunwale width 26.5").

A sit & switch racer or confirmed sit & switch recreational paddler would have different hull shape preferences from me. Namely, they'd prefer initial stability and lots of tumblehome to assist with the "no-FUN and mind-numbing drudgery of endless, high rate hand switching" -- as Mike Galt, in early 80's, used to describe Harry Roberts' so-called North American Touring Technique or NATT. Roberts' name and acronym never caught on in the literature or displaced the older moniker of Minnesota switch paddling.

I wouldn't paddle the remote gorges of Siberia, Uzbekistan or Nepal in a tumblehomed hull on a month-long wilderness trip, not even the ones Mike McCrea leads.

 

[Canotrouge]

I guess I confuse tumblehome with "gunnel tuck"! Like Glenn, I like a flared hull for all my paddling.