>The former importer of Valley Kayaks in Germany once mentioned to me in >passing that he had seen good side mounted skeg systems (and possibly >rudder systems) somewhere "down under". Their advantage lies in the fact >that they tend to be lifted clear of the water less when paddling in short >chop and that they are more accesible even from the cockpit under way. Has >anyone heard of these? > >Ralph C. Hoehn Ahh, the Southern Viking rudder by Don Currie. Yes, they were (are) available as retrofit items for Skerrays or anyother kayak if someone wants to fit a side mount rudder. Don's reason for designing it was that mounting further foreward meant less likelyhood of the blade coming out of the water with a shorter blade and it stowed along the side of the hull making it less prone to damage. When I first saw it I pointed out that rudders should be mounted on the steerboard side, not the port side. "Obvious, " he said, after a moment's pause, "The water goes down the plug hole the opposite way in the southern hemisphere. At this point I christened it the Southern Viking Rudder. It's retraction motion is a bit like half the undercarriage of a P40 Kittyhawk retracting. There is only one extra short bit of string needed to make it all work. Alex . . Alex (Sandy) Ferguson Chemistry Department University of Canterbury New Zealand *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Mon Jan 22 2001 - 15:49:08 PST
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