Re: [Paddlewise] Adjustable skegs

From: Michael Daly <michaeldaly_at_rogers.com>
Date: Tue, 09 Sep 2003 11:16:05 -0400
On 8 Sep 2003 at 23:37, Bob Volin wrote:

> Go to Atlantik Kayak Tours' "Expert Center" for a good discussion of
> skegs -- complete with animated Flash lesson.  The address is:

That's a nice article.

However, I don't understand the bit about how with a rope controlled 
skeg "you can't fine tune the skeg position."   I have a rope 
controlled skeg and I can set it to any position I like,  It takes a 
tad longer than just nudging a blob on a cable, but I can easily 
enough wiggle a bit of rope past the cleat or tug in a bit as 
required.  I'd call this nit-picking rather than a real deficiency in 
the design. 

IMHO, the only real advantage if the cable based designs is the ease 
of adjustment but the  potential problems are greater then the simple 
and cheap rope design.  Field repair of rope skegs are easy.

One other advantage I pointed out to a new and very keen paddler* 
this past weekend is that I find it easier to wiggle the rope-based 
skegs to free the skeg box of sand and gravel after launching at a 
beach.  I release the rope and then just grab the line and tug 
rapidly.  This vibration/wiggling causes the sand to drop out.  If 
you tried this with a cable, it would put some stress on the system.

Mike
*Keen - how many beginners say they like ocean cockpits because they 
get a better sense of control?  This guy's a natural and I like 
finding paddlers like him once in a while!  Excellent student!

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Received on Tue Sep 09 2003 - 08:09:21 PDT

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