Re: [Paddlewise] Adjustable skegs

From: William Jennings <will_at_bigwoodenradio.com>
Date: Tue, 9 Sep 2003 00:17:40 -0500
"Adjustable" can be a positive attribute, as in balancing the added 
tracking
against the added drag and/or changing conditions and needs.

"Adjustable" can be a pain in the ass, as in constant fidgeting and 
fussing
because what you are manipulating above water doesn't bear referenced or
consistent relevance to what's going on beneath the water.

Part of the plus-minus arguments of rope-bungee vs wire-slider skegs
has had to do with fixing in the field, bent & stretched cables, designs
prone to jams, etc.  Design changes have improved in recent years,
or so goes the tale i nmost shops and brochures.  I prefer the 
rope-bungee skeg set up on my Romany
because, well, that's what I've got and that's what it came with...and 
I doubt
that I'd make a boat selection based solely upon the skeg design.

That said, it helps to 'index' your skeg mechanism so that you have 
some sense of
what is or isn't happening beneath.  Small tweaks may or may not be 
noticeable
to different folk, different fits, differing conditions.  I do find it 
helpful to have a
clear sense of when the skeg is quarter / third/ half / full deployed.  
I check this from
time to time in 'dry dock' to see how the set up is aging.

Then again, the notorious tidal races of Iowa's inland reservoirs 
sooooooo
require minor adjustments of my skeg.....

-w

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Received on Mon Sep 08 2003 - 22:18:03 PDT

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