Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Theory of hardness



Bucket and float set-up












Bucket and float out for a tow!

The theory of hardness, more accurately, Mohs Scale of Mineral Hardness, is a system which characterizes the scratch resistance of various minerals. Its on a scale of 1 to 10 with talc as 1 and diamond as 10. There's another definition of course where hardness is based on relative difficulty.

Paddling on calm water is easy whereas paddling into a strong wind is more difficult. Taking someone in distress under tow also adds to the degree of difficulty.

Recently I've rigged up a float and a bucket to add to the difficulty of paddling practice. The float keeps the bucket close to the surface and the bucket adds resistance. I find that the addition of resistance allows me to concentrate more on form and is good towing practice.

Practice easy and you end up with talc; add some difficulty and you end up with diamonds. And you'll know you have diamonds when you take the resistance off because the boat just glides effortlessly across the water. I guess its like life, you have to have some difficulty in your life to know how good the "good times" are. That last part was an afterthought, WOW!

Tony :-)

2 comments:

Stan Mac Kenzie said...

Spoken like a true geologist with the wisdom to boot. Good on you Tony for all the practise. Ya might need it one day getting my butt to shore....or out of caves.

STan

Tony said...

No Stan, I'll need it to keep up with ya in your new boat! I'm lucky to have the time and I'm making a point of using it.

Tony :-)