"If this is the system I think it is, I was talking to one of our retailers last week and he said it was a reasonable product but far too expensive, nearly the cost of a whole kayak in this country!!!! You still need to drill holes in the sides of the hull to mount the footpegs? If so WHY? I never do that with the system I produce. In other words, there are still better ways of doing things. Alex" Here is the info on the Seal Line rudders http://www.cascadedesigns.com/sealline/smarttrack.asp There is more information on the left side of the page if you want to see the write-up. Cost here in the US is about $375 or about double the cost of a usual rudder system. The adjustability was great you could change the pedal setting sitting in your kayak. Only drawback is the cost, and of course some might argue a rudder is a drawback! I am just returning from a long summer of boating did 450 miles rowing my raft this summer including 21 days on the Grand Canyon. Wow the increase in strength improved my kayak paddling as well. Considering 3 years ago I couldn't lift my arms after rowing and paddling this feels great! I completely lost my roll because I couldn't cock my wrist. I thought Rheumatoid Arthritis had ended my boating career, fortunately this is not the case thanks to the new amazing arthritis drugs. cheers and happy boating! -- MZ . *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
[Mary wrote] >Cost here in the US is about $375 > Here is the info on the Seal Line rudders > http://www.cascadedesigns.com/sealline/smarttrack.asp $375 / 0.4 = $940NZ plus freight plus retailer's markup in NZ = NZ kayak. I'd love to be able to charge that for a superior product i.e. no holes in the hull, easier adjustability, rudder locks up on retraction with only 15% (?) more windage than the Seal Line, more comfortable pedals, simpler more rugged product. The trim tab - they talk about the discomfort of sliding pedals in a cross sea/cross wind situation and then produce a non-sliding product????? If adding a bit of constant rudder gives discomfort then maybe there is something seriously wrong with the kayak. Personally I think it is an unnecessary complication. Pedals - tiddly little things. Why not produce something that fits the whole foot as is done here? Adjustment - they are now using our (NZ) system of auto-adjustment lines though it looks as if the pedal position is still stepped adjustment and though adjustable from in the cockpit, you need to do two adjustments instead of one adjustment as is common in this country. Blade - retracts vertical. I went away from that system a decade ago. Prone to damage in the surf. Note, mine was about $5 of materials to do the same job, still got one on one of my kayaks, and at least 2 others I know of, after nearly 2 decades. Deployment - via a spring, like to see that after a day on one of our coasts after it gets full of sand. Might be OK but... An overpriced step in the right direction - could do better. Alex . . *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Thu Aug 21 2025 - 16:33:23 PDT