Re: [Paddlewise] Re-thinking a rudder

>I think rudders are a liability on kayak, with the possible exception of
>long doubles.
>Aside from the problems you mentioned of getting a swimmer on the stern
>deck, towing, and gear lashing, there are others:
>-They get in the way when trying to empty the boat on the beach
>-They are something on your friend's boat that can damage you boat or >your
>boat when he gets surfed into you. I'm terrified of having a ruddered boat
>in a rock garden with me
 Cheese and rice, now rudders are a "liability"!!!! Give me a break 
already!!!! Just out of curiosity perhaps you can explain to me why a rudder is a 
"liability" on a single and not on a double? And just how is the rudder any more of 
a "liability" when your friend surfs into you then is your friends total lack 
of boat control and skill? For that matter the kayaks pointed bow is a 
"liability" as well. Perhaps what we really need is kayaks with blunt padded bows! 
 >-It encourages sloppy boat control technique unless you religiously avoid
>using it (So why have it?)
 
Excuse me but just how does having a rudder on your boat "encourage sloppy 
boat control technique" any more then does a skeg? If you aren't skilled enough 
to handle a boat without some sort of crutch then you aren't skilled enough to 
handle the boat without some sort of crutch.
 
>-As another paddler pointed out, they add to stern windage, which further
>encourages their use in the wind 
 I personally have never found the rudder to create all that much windage 
despite the popular urban myths to the contrary. 
 >-They break, and are most likely to break in the roughest conditions 
 I used a ruddered boat in some very extreme conditions for fifteen years 
without ever experiancing a failure. While I'm sure it can happen, I have 
experienced numerous failures with skegs (they got stuck with gravel in them which I 
could not clear from the cockpit on the water). So what? Paddles break, boats 
break, I don't think that rudders are any more susceptible to failure then any 
of the rest of our equipment.
 
>-They look ugly 
 Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. 

For the record I have absolutely no preference between rudders, skegs, and 
the purist approach with nothing at all. Discussing this is, I feel, is 
something akin to debating which is the better flavor of ice cream. 

Scott
So.Cal.
 
 
 
 
 
 

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