a couple of young guys that i'm learning from are bothers (70 and 80). one lives in Maryland, the other in Florida. each has more kayaks/canoes/bikes than most folks ever think about. so when they do something, i watch carefully. indeed the 1st son has been kayaking since he was 15, back then no commercial boats were available so he made is own from vegetable crates and canvas. so what's new? well both have just acquired yet another boat and i had a chance to check out what their latest water passion. since i only had a brief time to learn from them, i'd appreciate what folks on Paddlewise have as follow on info. for the young guy, he got a 'Monarch' which is a boat designed by V. Kruger for long distance cruising.. it's a cross between a canoe and a kayak... usually paddled with a single blade. it has a rudder... but the interesting thing to me is that the rudder controls are by ones toes, over solid pegs for the balls of your feet. this set up seems to be very user friendly and it eliminated one of my pet problems with rudder controls, spongy foot rests. My questions are: is this control assembly available for kayaks? if so, which ones. and if not, why not? for 1st son, he and his wife drove from Florida to Canada to buy a row boat. now you can assume that this must be one nice boat.. so what is it? i read it as 'sweet London's but i heard it pronounced as 'sweet London's.. at any rate the boat is 17 ft, fiberglass, set up for both double or single rowers. vee bow & stern, round/flat bottom. the boat looked very user friendly, fast enough. sociable to the max. i learn of different oar lengths for different seats, and oar balance for long distance cruising... i don't find a web site for this boat. can any one help? and what are other row boats with similar purpose. i have to say, that this boat seems very practical/social for use on inland bays. and maybe a fleet is not balanced until canoes/kayaks and row boats are all represented. any one out there been in contact with cool row boats? bye bye bliven *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced/forwarded outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
"the rudder controls are by ones toes, over solid pegs for the balls of your feet. this set up seems to be very user friendly and it eliminated one of my pet problems with rudder controls, spongy foot rests. My questions are: is this control assembly available for kayaks? if so, which ones. and if not, why not?" This set up is available in Australia. It is what I have on my boat; a fixed plate for the ball of the foot, with a hinged flap above controlled by the toes. The rudder cord attaches to the top of the hinged section. I had the misfortune to try out a boat with sliding rudder controls on the weekend. I missed a roll when the foot control slid forward and I slid out of the cockpit. Regards, Peter Treby 37* 42' S 145* 08' E *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced/forwarded outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
At 06:17 PM 09/04/2000 -0400, you wrote: > but the interesting >thing to me is that the rudder controls are by ones toes, over solid pegs >for the balls of your feet. this set up seems to be very user friendly and >it eliminated one of my pet problems with rudder controls, spongy foot >rests. My questions are: is this control assembly available for kayaks? if >so, which ones. and if not, why not? I have this rudder assembly in my 5 year old Baldwin. At the time my boat was built, four of the kayak models available from Baldwin were offered with an optional toe controlled rudder installed on adjustable foot braces. Baldwin Boat Company is a small kayak maker in Orrington, Maine. I'm not sure about their current product line. Richard *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced/forwarded outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
> but the interesting >thing to me is that the rudder controls are by ones toes, over solid pegs >for the balls of your feet. this set up seems to be very user friendly and >it eliminated one of my pet problems with rudder controls, spongy foot >rests. My questions are: is this control assembly available for kayaks? if >so, which ones. and if not, why not? Available like that for a number of years in this country (New Zealand). The first person to solo unsupported around the South Island (Brian Roberts) had us fit them soon after the start of his trip. 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/forwarded outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
> > Available like that for a number of years in this country (New Zealand). > > Alex So common in NZ, that after 6yrs of paddling the only kayak I've seen with the sliding foot controls, was on a brand new Storm (about 6 months ago). Took it for a test run and couldn't stand the foot pegs. No bracing and I felt like I was peddling a bike! I thought it was a new design at the time but now realise that it is an old design fitted to a new boat. Why the manufacturers fitted them, I don't know, They were one of the reasons I was put off from buying the boat. Maybe some paddlers prefer them? Give me the "gas pedal" type any day! *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced/forwarded outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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