>> Paul changed to using a rudder part way through his Australian >> circunavigation after having problems with the skeg. >> >> Alex >> . >Help me out here. Is there a rudder vs skeg issue? Does anyone have any >opinions on that one? This is making my day-dreaming about my >boat-after-next much more complicated. I thought I had narrowed it down to >skeg vs no skeg, but the dreadful rudder has been thrown back in the mix. >Having repaired aircraft, I confess to a fear of moving parts. Where shall >I turn? > >Bob Where to turn (!!!! :-). Nothing much more than to point out that one of the very-long-distance paddlers would not paddle without a rudder. There are a lot of experienced paddlers in this country who make rude comments about people who don't think rudders are useful or reliable. As one put it, "With that thinking, Boeing would have all the passengers running up and down the aircraft instead of using elevators." The other comment here is, "A skeg is a failed rudder." One of the greatest problems has been the design and use of sliding pedals for steering - DON'T use sliding pedals. After that, just sensible design. Finally, if there is a failure, it doesn't mean that a paddler can't get home, just that it will be a little harder for some. BTW, Paul's problem was retracting the skeg which was making it difficult to turn up wind (very strong wind). Alex Alex (Sandy) Ferguson Chemistry Department University of Canterbury New Zealand *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Tue Oct 12 1999 - 21:10:59 PDT
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