Dennis,
About the apparent loss in the stability of your "bare" T9 in chop: When under sail, the wind pressure on the sails will stabilize you. Lower the sails and it is just you and the chop. Reminds me of sailing in a dying breeze on the Berkeley flats (you might remember those): Wind gone, chop remains and the boat just pitching and rolling. When deflating those external sponsons, your body needs to get adjusted to the suddenly tippier kayak. "Suddenly" is the key word here, it just takes a bit to get back in the groove (dynamic stability!). Doesn't mean that your T9 isn't suitable for open water. There are a few things you can do to improve stability if needed: Lower your seat to lower your center of gravity and add ballast down low to do the same and also make the T9 sit lower in the water (increases waterline beam). In Germany the T9 has the reputation to settle down nicely when loaded. I would, like I do with every kayak, check out both primary (how easily will it lean?) and secondary stability (how far can you lean, and how much resistance do you then feel?), preferably at a dock (or use a paddle float). Try this with ballast and lower seating position. You might be surprised at the difference! At least on my Kette, lowering the seat changed it from a twitchy ride to a very smooth one.
Chris O.
_________________ Klepper Aerius II Nautiraid Miniraid Klepper T67 Pionier 450 S Kette SE 54 Mariner Coaster HSF Horst Hartung Slalom 50 P&H Hammer
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