Just returned from an abbreviated trip to Barkley Sound with four others, all reasonably fit folks, four with ruddered sea kayaks, and one without. The paddler without a rudder was unable to maintain a course across a well-developed sea generated by 10-12 knots of steady wind. The combination of wind and seas persistently threw her on a course some 20 - 30 degrees downwind. Although she had enough strength to correct that deviation the first half of the crossing, she eventually wore out. In order to get her to a safe harbour some one and a half sea miles away, we resorted to a light tow in which a strong paddler applied only enough towing force to keep her bow headed in the correct direction. With that assistance, she made it to camp handily, under her own steam. The paddler in question is a fifty-ish woman with "normal" upper body strength, extremely good endurance, and a perhaps a total of 40-50 hours in her small wooden kayak (a Pygmy Osprey Standard). This boat was trimmed for reasonably neutral helm, and ballasted at the center with 20 pounds of water. I believe that those who know the hull will testify that it is not a high-performance hull; rather, it is designed for reasonably high stability, and ease in course correction via leaning. She had previously paddled that boat, maybe four times, in seas generated by 8-10 knot breezes in her home paddling area with the same ballasting/trim setup, and had never before encountered this problem. I have paddled the same boat in much rougher beam sea/wind conditions, and had never been unable to maintain a desired course. Aside from outweighing the lady by some 60-70 pounds, I am a quite a bit stronger, and experienced in correction strokes. I believe this is a clear case for the practical value of a rudder in this sea kayak. Though I don't "need" it (and don't want it) in the boat -- it's my clean day tripper -- a rudder would have saved the day for the woman who used it that crossing. She has previously paddled larger boats, with greater windage, across similar sea/wind combinations, using the body strength at her command. Those boats had rudders, enabling her to direct those boats where she needed to go. We have had a couple bouts of discussion here, edging sometimes to theological terrain, on the issue of rudder/no rudder. For me, it now boils down to whether or not an "average" paddler can get home or not. I am no longer convinced that there exists a "perfect" combination of hull shape and trim which will get an "average" paddler to safety. In the case I have described, sure enough, __I__ could have made the crossing in that boat, with room to spare. But other folks, working their way, by trial and error, through the catalog of paddling experiences needed to use that boat safely are likely to have a couple of strandings (or worse) without the backup of a rudder. That's unsafe. When I read, here or elsewhere, that a rudder is an abomination on a hull, I am sure to recall that woman's travails this week. -- Dave Kruger Astoria, OR *************************************************************************** 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 Sat Sep 22 2001 - 23:19:11 PDT
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