This is the best and clearest exposition in this thread. That means I agree totally. Thanks. Jerry >To pipe in with my experience with rudders: > >The core of the discussion seems to be getting down to the issue of >efficiency and convenience. I look at the convenience of a rudder (or skeg) >like the cruise control feature on an automobile. Sure, you can drive >across Nebraska and Wyoming without cruise control, but it makes the long >haul much simpler. When you need more hands on control, you turn it off. > >Before a long trip two years ago, I did a series of time trials, including >rudder tests, on a measured course on a lake with an impellor-driven knot >meter. Kayak empty, kayak loaded with 150 lbs. of bricks, rudder up, rudder >down, etc., and came up with about a 2% rudder drag factor, or about 0.1 >mph slower at 5 mph. (Eddyline Sea Star, 18', 22") > >This drag factor, in my opinion, is overshadowed by the effort that is >otherwise expended steering the kayak in some types of rough water. I have >been canoeing and kayaking since before 1970 (about 9250 miles total), and >can make anything, from a squirt boat on up, go in a straight line if I >work hard enough. On weekend and short haul trips of 100 miles or less, I >only occasionally use a rudder, as there is usually time and energy for an >active paddling style in rougher conditions. On the long trip- 1136 miles >in 30 days around the perimeter of Lake Superior, without resupply- I found >that I used the rudder up to about 70% of the time in choppy conditions, >since I was trying to direct most of my finite energy supply into forward >motion, and keeping a heavily-loaded boat on course in quartering seas and >reflected waves is a bit of work. > >In rough water, a rudder under load, would probably exert more than the "2% >baseline" of drag, but still takes some of the load off your arms and >shoulders and allows a steadier cadence. Perhaps a skeg would be a >practical compromise. These are just tools to do the job, like a GPS unit >or a butane lighter. This is of course my observation, relating to my >paddling style, as I like to cover miles, and am not too concerned about >any ideological or traditional purity beyond the human-powered premise. > >-Andy Knapp *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
Even though I don't have anything real new to add on these subjects (this, of course has never stopped me before) I do have a headache, and it's getting hard to sift through all these posts. On Skegs and Rudders: I think it was St. Augustine who said "love God and sin boldly". It seems that a similar view could be had on skegs and rudders. Work on your skills so that you learn to handle a boat without these gadgets and then use them any time you want to. On Paddles: Every style paddle has its advantages and disadvantages. Anyone who says one kind is the best for everyone is nuts. BTW, can anyone tell me how a Greenland-style paddle (I understand the paddle to have symetrical ends and sides), can have lift? I may be missing something here but, unless you tilt the blade, (a condition which would produce lift out of most any paddle blade) it produces no lift. The fact that the blade of a Greenland-style paddle has less "bite" on the water (and air), and therefore is easy on the elbows is great, but I can get the same softness out of other kinds of paddles and not have to put up with the heavy weight and the limitation in paddling styles. Granted, my paddle doesn't have the aesthetic advantage of having started its life as a 2x4 but it does, in turn, have the advantage of not having started as a 2x4 too. My head still aches. Oh well. John Winskill *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
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