> How about an inflatable or permanently inflated device that runs all the
> way around the boat at the gunwale? It would not only help prevent
> capsizing and turtling but would also eliminate the need for a rub rail and
> fenders. It wouldn't have to be inflatable; it could be made of a flexible
> closed cell foam material.
I think you are on to something here, Harry. If you sliced the
noodles in half lengthways (which you could probably do with a
bandsaw and some care), you would have a nice flat, flexible surface
that could be glued to the hull, all the way around. In fact, you
could use multiple noodles, and sheath the boat down to the
waterline. You wouldn't need fenders, and you would have an extra
few hundred pounds worth of flotation. Might even add a little
structural strength.
Of course, the boat would look kind of strange.
-- Kent Crispin, PAB Chair "Do good, and you'll be kent@songbird.com lonesome." -- Mark Twain