Re: [Paddlewise] To Rudder?

From: Dan Hagen <dan_at_hagen.net>
Date: Fri, 27 Mar 1998 08:23:14 -0800
Dave Kruger wrote:

> ...SNIP...
> Got a smaller boat, a plywood stitch and glue I built, which does not
> have a rudder.  Does not need it -- for my use, anyway.  However, my SO
> thinks she would feel more comfortable if it had one, because she is not
> adept at leaned/swept turns, and she is uneasy in a following sea when
> the stern wiggles (pre-broaching behavior).  She loves to paddle the
> boat because it is light and responsive.  If she were stuck in gnarly
> conditions with it, sans rudder, and got into trouble, I'd feel bad if
> I'd taken a hard-ass attitude about the rudder issue.  ...SNIP...

I think that this is an excellent example of what lies at the core of
the issue. Here we have a boat that does not need a rudder, but a
paddler who does. Not being prone to dogmatic thinking, I believe that
there are two reasonable alternatives in such cases: (1) add a rudder,
or (2) learn to control the boat without one. This, by the way, involves
more than "leaned/swept turns".

Dan Hagen
Bellingham, Washington
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Received on Fri Mar 27 1998 - 08:25:35 PST

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