smellyolivee wrote:Find that a little bit rude!
the questionaire is the proove there is a problem with the products that are already on the market then once ive completed that section i will go into research where i look at existing solutions and evaluate the prpducts forst hand looking into whats sucessful about it ect. So if yoi vould fill it in then youll be helping me to collect evidence! Thank you!
You would be better off if you already knew about all the different boat transport solutions and were asking specific questions about problems people might have with them, things like how much do each of your boats weigh? Does the weight constitute a problem when lifting the boat onto the roof rack? for each boat do you find it works well with plain roof bars, same Q with uprights, same Q with J bars, same Q with V bars etc. etc.
At least look up Karitek website and see the varous solutions they already have.
I did A-level technology at a time when the exam board were thinking about dropping it because it was too hard, so I understand you need to research to find a real problem rather than just one you perceive, but I still think it is good advice to do that research in an area you already have some familiarity with, so that you can ask the right questions and understand the answers.
1. WW Kayaking, Freestyle Kayaking, Sea Kayaking, Canoe Polo (which is kayaking), Slalom Kayaking, Slalom Canoeing, WW Canoeing (OC1 and trad), FW Canoeing, Kite Buggy Racing. There are others I don't have time to keep up with like Kitesurfing, Mountain Biking and Hillwalking.
2. I reckon I'm doing them all.
3. Lots, at least half my weekends and 2 or 3 evenings per week
4. Not sure I understand he question, do you mean if I didn't have a day job?
5. By car or motorhome. Boats are generally transported on the roof rack of the car, either flat, or against uprights, or I built a custom cradle to fit my new sea kayak because the bar spacing is not very good for it. The buggy is part dismantled and goes in the back of the car with the seats folded down - I have enough room to easily take both rear axles and 2 complete sets of wheels as well as 2 complete sets of race kites, toolbox, beach tent, clothing, food and camping equipment for a weekend away. I can usually get 3 sets of wheels in if I pack it carefully but most venues I only need to take 2 for. In the motorhome, everything fits inside, I still have to part dismantle the buggy though because the rear axle with wheels on is too wide to wheel straight in.
6. Yes, the motorhome needs a lot more welding underneath before I can get it through an MOT and take it off SORN.
7. Not really, if I don't take any passengers. I can take more in the motorhome than in the car, but since boats go on the roof and most of the clothing I use is the same I can take several boats at the same time as the buggy in the car.
I don't really see how questions 1, 2, 3, and 4 are relevant to what you are intending to design....
There is a world of difference between the problems I have to overcome transporting a 10kg slalom or polo boat compared to transporting a 35kg open canoe, or the problems transporting a 20kg sea kayak, or the problems transporting any of my PE boats (17-30kg each at a guess).
For the slalom/polo boats lifting them onto the rack is easy, I do it one handed, but strapping them down in a way that doesn't crush the composite hull or deck, but makes them secure to travel on the motorway requires care.
For the lightweight sea kayak (most are a lot more than 20kg) the problem was that it was overhanging the bars too much and in danger of cracking due to fliexing due to carrying, also none of the available J-bars or cradles fitted it very well, so I made my own cradle around the boat to support it further out and support the hull evenly at each cradle. I do need two hands to lift it onto the roof, but it is still very easy.
For all my PE boats there really aren't any problems, they can go on any way round or up, the straps can be cranked down until the hulls flex making them secure and they will pop back to shape when I take them off. Some of them are getting a bit weighty for lifting up but they are small enough to manage.
For my open canoe the weight and size create challenges - I carry it on the yoke until I am level with the bars and then shimmy one gunwale onto the bars and slide it accross taking my head out of the way as I go. My car is quite old and quite low as a result, modern cars have higher roof line, which means higher rack which means other people probably can't use this technique.
So there are a number of possible transport problems that vary depending on exactly what kind of boat people are trying to transport, and how many people are trying to lift them onto the car (I do all mine on my own, some people may work in pairs or groups finding alternative solutions through manpower....). Your questions aren't well worded to get the kind of level of response you need to draw up your design brief.
You could probably gather quite enough data on just transporting kayaks or just transporting canoes, your question about carrying lots of different combinations of activity kit could get really wide - far too much to deal with!