[Paddlewise] Skegs,rudders and chines, oh my

Whoa maybe I should have lurked a little longer!  The
new kid on the block now has to answer to the rest of
the crew- let the initiation begin
Before I share a tale I'll share my views on some of
the questions you asked;

rdempsey wrote: <snip> where do you stand on the
important issues of skegs, rudders and chines??

Firstly skegs don't have as many moving parts and such
and thus tend not to break down and cost less than
rudders. However, skegs only enhance tracking, so I
think its more important for paddlers to have
knowledge of basic paddle strokes.  After I have said
this my kayak is equipped with a rudder system I find
it invaluable when I am tired or just feel like
watching the world go by.  My kayak has very little
rocker and therefor it tracks quite efficiently pretty
much making my rudder just a flashy looking add on. 
If I had the choice to make again I probably would
have opted to spend the extra money on a better paddle
than have the rudder.  In risking sounding repetitive
the posts of the last week have basically summed up
that the area between the bottom of the kayak and its
sides is called the chine. Rounded sides are referred
to as soft chines, while more abrupt or right-angled
sides are called hard chines. Soft chines provide less
initial stability but
more secondary stability. Hard chines provide great
stability initially but much less secondary stability.
I myself like my soft chined pig of a boat.

David Whyte wrote: "And what about PFDs in calm water
and petting whales"
  
I fell all paddlers should have PFDs, I do admit
though that mine spends the majority of its time
stuffed into my deck riggings-It doesn't fit right and
I know thats a feeble excuse.  My dog who regularily
rides in my stern hatch religiously wears his.  As for
petting whales if I ever were to encounter any I would
be scared that if I touched them I would find out they
disappeard like the bubbles you tried to catch when
you were a kid, and that would be too sad.

Katie



A tale of adventure.... Ah I think I'll wait for
another night. 

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