Pool Noodle Physics for Absolute Newbies

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H2Oz
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Joined: Tue May 12, 2015 2:21 pm

Pool Noodle Physics for Absolute Newbies

Post by H2Oz »

A Word of Warning

Pool noodles are made from a roughly 1#-density polyethylene foam that is *NOT* UV stable. This foam has a gazillion tiny bubbles in it, but it is NOT cross-linked (i.e., it's like super-microscopic bubble wrap -- once a bubble pops, it's "Adios Flotato", comprende?) You can squeeze them and they'll bounce back, but crushed/pressed for a long time, they go FLAT. (Also, they are pretty much useless in a sledgehammer fight.) Ultimately, pool noodles are a KID'S TOY.

But go dissin' that "toy" to a KAYAKFISHERMAN and, man, you may GET a sledgehammer fight. Because noodles have, for rich and po'-boy paddlefishermen alike, gotten a LOT of jobs done right, quick, simply AND super-cheap.

Pool Noodle Flotation 101

*ALL* types of flotation (e.g., closed-cell) foams (noodles, 2-part expanding, cheap styrofoam blanks, fancy patented stuff) provide about the same amount of flotation (only tiny variances) by VOLUME. What they DO vary by is weight per cubic foot, flexibility, resistance to impact or abrasion, etc.

The main advantages of pool noodles are that they are cheap, extremely light weight per cubic foot, and easily worked. But LIGHT is the factor that MATTERS -- A LOT! If one cubic foot of your flotation weighs one pound, it will float up to 60 pounds, but at 2 pounds per cubic foot, it will only float 59. You have to SUBTRACT the weight of the flotation material itself from the weight to be floated.

Pool Noodle Math

So, the WEIGHT of pool noodles is negligible (unless you're using POUNDS of them, maybe as, say, hull stuffing). You need to figure the VOLUME of this flotation material. And (sob!) pool noodles can vary by volume a LOT! Most are round, but some are star- or hexagon-shaped, overall diameter AND hole size may vary, overall length, etc.

The simple way to figure a ROUND one is: cylinder volume MINUS hole volume. BOTH use the formula "pi times radius squared times length" or "3.14 x r^2 x l". Get the volume of the noodle first, then the hole, then SUBTRACT.

Rule of Thumb: A 2-1/2" wide noodle with a 3/4" hole will float *roughly* 2 pounds per foot of length.

Anchor Line Floats

Unless you're using floating rope (a BAD idea), your anchor line needs a float at the top end, in case you have to disengage and retrieve your anchor later. Where flotation is involved, it doesn't matter how long your anchor rope is, nor what diameter it is. It matters what it WEIGHS -- including any hardware on it, above OR below the float.

But remember: You don't need enough noodle to float your anchor, but you DO need enough to float the WEIGHT of your anchor ROPE -- PLUS its hardware.

And now, for you newbies out there, a word from our sponsor, The Bentho-Terpsichorean Casket Company:
ALWAYS USE AN ANCHOR TROLLEY!! ALWAYS USE AN ANCHOR TROLLEY!! Anchoring from abeam or anywhere near it is DEATH!! ALWAYS USE AN ANCHOR TROLLEY!!
Thank you.


A Million Other Uses:

Aside from (or often in conjunction with) flotation purposes, pool noodles can be used for shock and/or sound reduction, scupper plugs, and God Alone Knows What-All. Get your pool noodle rigging design mojo fired up with an (almost) endless scroll of images at:

https://www.google.com/search?q=%22kaya ... =isch&sa=X

Some of them may inspire you. If nothing else, some may convince you that you're not that crazy after all.
(Relatively speaking, of course. I mean, you have chosen to be a paddlefisherman, right?)

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Source:
"The Gradually-Accreting Compendium of Arcane Rigging Brain Seizures for
the Modern Kayakfisherman and Other Self-Propelled Aquatic Sociopaths",
U. Phemism & N. DePlume, Journal of How Not to Send Your Gear to Davey Jones,
Vol. 1 No. 1, 1947, p. 328
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