Re: Skeg or not to skeg ?

Posted by Howard on Oct 20, 2005

i paddle a 17lt in a lot of different conditions. so far she has handled very well without a skeg.

i have had many instances the conditions have been such that my co-paddlers in boats of different designs (usually round bottomed kayaks) have had to use their skegs/rudders. when we have switched boats, they remarked how directionally stable the 17LT was.

however, you could argue that i do not really have a good basis to compare how she would handle with a skeg/rudder down....as i can't switch it on and off and feel the difference.

i think there is a lot to be said to keeping it simple. last paddle, my friends rudder got all dinged up/wouldn't work after he accidenty sat in the boat in shallow water with the rudder down.

my preference would be to try it out and install later if i was not decided which way to go. if i knew i wanted it...i would put it in at construction. its not that much harder as a retrofit.

In Response to: Re: Skeg or not to skeg ? by John Short on Oct 20, 2005

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