Matt wrote; > Your efficiency point is arguable (SNIP) As is the opposite opinion. >> 1)Less fatigue. Loose or spongy foot pedals diminish the power of your > stroke (SNIP) No law that says one has to have spongy foot pedals. > Where the pedals work like gas pedals just the calf muscles are > mostly lost for sharing the hull drag load among your muscle groups. Anything other than subjective opinion to support this? I have searched in vain for data on this although it seems sensible it may only be a perception of a problem. > 2)Possible injury during carrying, in camp or at sea (sharp edges and > corners can create difficulties especially during rescues. One person I'm > aware of grabbed the cable to try to stop his kayak from getting away from > him in small surf and the cable cut his hand to the bone. Is this a fault of rudders or construction? Coated cables like those used for lifelines on sailboats would solve the problem. Why condemn rudders for a builder's mistake or cheap practices. > 3)A more jerky ride as the flat rudder surface is batted sideways by wave > crests in steep cross-chop. Any objectivce testing to suppport this? Maybe this is only apparent to highly sensitive people and unimportant to others. I, for example, was unable to detect the problem when experimenting with rudders. > 4)The rudder can trip you as it reenters the water during a broach > especially if you try to correct the broach by using the rudder Any objective support for this? Maybe the problem was boat design not the rudder. Seems more complicated with all the variables. > 5)Broken rudders, cables, corrosion, and wear mean far more maintenance is > required. (SNIP) What does "far more" mean. Cable rudders are used on small airplanes and many yachts and work boats with a good record of reliability. Perhaps the problem is not with rudders but construction. > 6)During Sea Kayaker magazine's tank tests a kayak rudder added 10% more > drag (at 3 knots) on both of two separate runs. The data is suspect as Matt well knows. Only a small number of runs were done and the rudder may or may not have been properly aligned. It would be nice to have the data to properly analyse it but alas it seems to have disappeared. Of course, using the rudder to offset weather helm may save much more than 10% anyway. > 7)Due to the toggle's location the hull usually bangs against your leg > when > carrying the stern. Changing tired hands on the toggle often means a > choice > between risking back or groin injury or putting the clean (wet) hull down > in > the sand. Since I paddle alone and carry my kayak alone (probably inviting back injury etc.) this sounds a bit specious. Carrying half a kayak's weight does not seem like a lot and something that would cause injury to a healthy individual but it may be possible. Sounds like an interesting study. I don't suppose water could be used to wash the boat. > 8)Slower turns while moving because you straighten your knee to push the > rudder pedal rather than lifting that knee to tilt the kayak. (SNIP) Any law against turning a boat with a rudder by heeling it wth the rudder up? 9)Slower spins (SNIP) Ditto #8 10)Fouling of towing or fishing lines. Good reason - if one fishes. > 11)A rudder aggravates weatherhelm by adding windage at the stern. Is there any objective testing (or calculations) to show how much? Subjective opinion might well conclude it is trivial compared to the benefits. > 12)Correcting weatherhelm with a rudder adds considerably more paddling > resistance because you must angle the rudder to go straight. This is > equivalent of dragging a stick in the water as wide as the area the angled > blade sweeps out to control the weather tendency of the boat. Any objective testing to establish this? Subjective opinion by many who use and like rudders suggests the contrary. > 13)Backing up, the rudder blade has a strong tendency to flop to one side > or > the other. (You might also be stopped or tangled more by seaweed as well). Is there a problem with raising the rudder for backing up? Of course, if the backing up is accidental it could be a serious problem. I can't comment because I have never had the problem. > 14)Rudders have been hit by sharks. Some have speculated that the motion > (or > vibrations from the rudder) acts as a lure to them. I have heard the same thing about aluminium boats, certain colours, etc. etc. etc. Any objective testing to support the contention? > 15)Rudders take time to work and the delay in feedback that delay causes > often results in over control and zig-zagging. Maybe this depends on what you try to do with them. I have noticed considerable delays in paddler response when not using a rudder as well. Maybe this is a skill and practice thing. >There is also less fine and > precise control when using a pedal/cables/rudder system. I've found it is > far more difficult to thread through a tight place with rudder control > than > by using paddle and lean control alone. Maybe the combination would work well. Also maybe the rudder wasn't well designed or maybe the boat was not well designed or who knows what. Blaming the rudder as a concept seems a bit of a stretch when the problem could very well lie elsewhere. > 16)It gets in the way of learning other means of controlling the > difficulties that it can help correct and often creates a depencency on > the > one part of the paddle/kayak/paddler system most likely to fail. I have met many skilled paddlers who would argue this point. In addition, Maybe some people don't have any interest in learning the skills that Matt values so highly. Not all paddlers have the same objectives >And the > rudder is most likely to fail at the times it is most needed by the rudder > dependant rudderer/paddler (in rough and windy conditions when it is being > put under the most stress). This suggests a certian malevolent intelligence on the part of rudders. Are you sure that failures are not do to poor construction or care? As for me, I don't use a rudder but that is a personal preference for simplicity. There are thousands of happy rudder users that suggest that my opinion is not the only valid opinion. In the absence of really conclusive data to support the anti-rudder sentiment as revealed truth it might pay to try both and then adopt the one that best suits one's objectives. Cheers John Winters *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
I prefer a footboard with a steering stick rather than foot pedals. The footboard makes for better use of the legs during the forward stroke (as in sprint boat racing). For messing about in the surf where pitonning is possible, I am concerned that pedals may permit one's feet to slip past the pedals and become entraped (which is why many wild water kayak designs moved away from small foot pedals fifteen or so years ago). While a rudder is not necessary for steering control, it sure helps (particularly in quartering winds). Yes, it adds a bit of drag, but it also permits you to spend your efforts entirely on your forward stroke, rather than using part of your efforts to steer the boat. I don't have any stats to put forward on this, but for the last couple of decades I have paddled sprint kayaks with rudders (they all have rudders -- which is worth noting, for if rudders were not a good thing then Olympic racers would not use them) and identical sprint kayaks with their rudders broken off, and I can assure you that even in calm water and calm wind condtions, sprint kayaks with rudders go a lot faster than their identical counterparts without rudders. *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
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