<< It seems to me that TOWING FROM A POINT UNDER THE KAYAK would certainly tangle, or even break, the rudder when the towed boat rose higher than the tow boat due to wave action.>> Rudder??? Excuse me? :^) Maybe I misunderstood the gizmo, but I thought that someone had come up with a tow bridle that went underneath the towing boat in order to somehow prevent the tow line from interfering with a rudder. The only way this would work is if the bridle actually straddled the rudder, but this would give you an undesireable tow point at the extreme stern. I cannot see what the point of towing from a point beneath the boat would be in any boat, with or without a rudder. Using a bridle to lower the tow point of the boat that is being towed makes sense. I tow from my waist and my boat has no rudder. There is some potential for the towrope hooking the pump strapped down on my rear deck, but I haven't had this happen yet. Nick Lyle *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
In a message dated 9/15/99 1:35:18 PM Pacific Daylight Time, nickjean_at_speakeasy.org writes: << Maybe I misunderstood the gizmo, but I thought that someone had come up with a tow bridle that went underneath the towing boat in order to somehow prevent the tow line from interfering with a rudder. >> Nick, Nope, you understand. Its my fault really. I often paddle boats with rudders, but never use them, so my mind identifies with rudder interference only coming from those pesky portions above the waterline. If using a rudder to steer with, of course the under-boat bridle would cause the towline to interfere with the rudder blade. When towing from above the deck, I have always had problems with the rudder blade or bellcrank snagging the towline. Maybe this is yet another argument against kayaks with rudders? :^) In fact, I usually paddle kayaks with adjustable skegs, but only occasionally lower the skeg. Again, you're point is well taken -- the under-boat bridle would cause the towline to snag on the skeg if it was lowered. Usually, I've wanted the skeg fully up when towing to give me maximum maneuverability *and* experienced problems with the towline hooking around the stern. What this again points out is the need to be able to adjust any towing system to varying conditions of usage as well as sea conditions and other outside influences. Going back to my original post on this subject, I merely asked (after reading about use of the bridle on the towed boat), if anyone had tried using a similar rig on the towing boat. As far as I know, nobody has actually tested such a rig. Just thinking our loud :^) Harold *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Thu Aug 21 2025 - 16:33:02 PDT