May I take the rudder discussion in a new direction? (Sorry about that.) As background, I paddle without my rudder 95+% of the time. Would-be helpful kayakers I encounter are always pointing out to me that I've "forgotten" to lower it. Anyway, in the last several years Feathercraft and similar thin, tall surf rudders have become pretty standard, especially on single kayaks. My understanding of their advantages: 1) They submerge below surface turbulence to grip the "solid" water beneath. 2) They can retract fully onto the rear deck to avoid catching following seas when paddling, or following paddlers when portaging, or following cars when driving. 3) By being smaller, they have less drag than wider, shorter rudders. The case I've heard for wider rudders: 1) They offer more turning power for tighter turns, especially important in doubles where paddles are used more for propulsion than control. 2) They can be cranked to a greater "angle of attack" before they stall to cease being rudders and start being brakes. 3) By effectively increasing the waterline length of the hull, they create less drag than thin rudders (a direct contradiction of point 3 in the previous paragraph). I throw this out for discussion and comments (I'd be especially interested in John W's thoughts). Breathlessly awaiting being deluged by the fountain of knowledge that is PaddleWise. Philip Torrens "The opinions expressed in this posting are not necessarily those of my employer, or indeed, of any sentient being." **************************************** Mountain Equipment Co-op 1655 West 3rd Avenue, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6J 1K1 Tel: 640-732-1989 Fax: 604-731-6483 email: pid_at_mec.ca Visit our website at: http://www.mec.ca ***************************************** *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************Received on Wed Apr 01 1998 - 13:53:50 PST
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