Rudder just turns your boat with less effort.
This may be true for a very straight tracking kayak, but in general a rudder
impedes turning. Like a skeg, a rudder is there to making going straight
easier especially with a cross wind to correct for the weather helm.
A rudder is easier than a skeg to control the amount of course correction
you need, but on the other hand (or better said feet 
a rudder needs
much more constant attention when paddling than a skeg.
Although I prefer a rudder over a skeg, this is the reason I only use a
rudder when it really is an advantage with cross winds and surfing.
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Overall I prefer the skeg, but I appreciate rudders too. Because a skeg give a blade to âbiteâ the water like the bow does, the sternâs side to side drift is eliminated. In fact a large skeg that deploys deep can give more bite then the bow and cause lee cocking. This is not always a bad thing if I want to make large gentle turns in wind I can cause the kayak to go either to the left or the right and never adjust any stroke to correct the drift. I simply go deeper for lee cocking and shallower for weather cocking. Getting in-between makes the kayak go dead straight.
With the rudder I like the âgas peddleâ foot braces so the lower parts stay set and I turn the rudder with the upper parts of the peddles. I used the sliding "pegsâ for a while and they work fine, but the switching back and forth between my skeg kayak and my rudder kayak seemed to cause me to never get 100% relaxed with the sliding braces because the foot had to move forward on the side you want to turn and for edge turns with the addition of ruddering, it was âbackwardsâ as compared to the skeg boat. So after 2 months I swapped out the controllers for gas peddle types.
With the gas peddles I can now move my hips and thighs the same on both kayaks. The rudder needs to be used with an additional movement of the toes/ankles, but that is not as radical a change as moving the one foot farther away from the hip, like it was with the sliders.
Iâd assume if you owned only kayaks with sliders it would never be a problem, because you learn to use that system alone. Swapping back and forth was what seemed to confuse me.
Overall I lean toward a skeg more so then a rudder, BUT the very worst storm I ever had to paddle cross-wind through was in my Sea Lion and I was using the rudder a lot. I have to give it credit. It was wonderful to have it.
When I finish my back-log (I have about 2-1/2 to 3 years to go) I want to âretireâ which to me means making muzzleloaders only 2-3 per year and I also intend to start making kayaks. I will custom fit one for myself and for my wife as well as for about 4 friends. I will make the sterns in a way that is rudder-ready, but I also want to have a skeg as an option to my designs. I am not experienced enough to recommend one over the other. But because I can make the kayaks âfrom the ground upâ I can modify the features to what ever is desired. After I have a few years and a few kayaks behind me I think Iâll learn more. As of right now, I lean slightly toward the skeg, but that also may be only because I have more time in a skeg kayak and feel more familiar with it.
My friend Thor has a Perceptions Eclipse that came with a rudder from the factory but the man we got it from had lost the rudder in a move. I made one from raw materials and copied the existing designs we see on many, but I made a modification in the way I assembled mine. I made the pivot housing in 2 pieces with 1/4" dowel pins and 5/16" stainless screws and nuts. The housing itself is made from Lexan (Bullet Proof Glass) In doing it that way I have a rudder that can be easily dissembled for modifications or repairs. It is made with bushings at all pivots and so itâs super smooth to operate. The blade was made extra long and as we used it Iâd cut it down a bit at a time until it worked perfectly. (easier to take it off then to put it back)
I point this out because I believe the rudders are a system that can be modified to suit the boat and the desired of the paddler.
The skeg on the other hand is a one-and-done design. The typical objections to both is that they require care and sometimes repair.
I am mulling over ideas to make such things easier. One idea I want to try is to make push/pull rods supported in drop hooks to replace wires and cords. The rudder cables would still be used from the peddles to the day hatch compartment, but with bead and socket attachments at the ends of hollow fiberglass rods that are held against the upper deck all the way back to the left and right pivots to attach with stainless 3 eye hinges. Set in place with stainless screws and keeper pins so the whole thing can be easily dissembled in the field and serviced or cleaned with only a small tool like a Swiss army knife or Leatherman type pliers.
I have a similar idea for the skeg. No cord or cable. A push/pull rod doing the âheavy liftingâ, set in drop eyes so again itâs easy to clean, disassemble and maintain. Bead and socket connectors going to the skeg box itself but those running through a housing to prevent jamming if a load was to shift. I have an idea to give the skeg a âpower assistâ with a stainless spring, and a tension adjuster with a double lock to it doesnât go out of adjustment in use.
Things that make me smile. I have hopes and plans for the future. Now I just have to work towards them and see if I am successful in these ideas. If not, itâs ok. Without a plan and a goal we stagnate and even trying and failing is better then not trying at all.
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I know everyone loves their skegs, but I love rudders. I am fully proficient with corrective strokes and rudderless boats, but for the most part rudders make every part of paddling more enjoyable for me. Its often windy around me and anytime its windy Iâll take positive directional control (i.e. a rudder) every time. Also surfing waves or drafting waves is much, much easier with a rudder and may be impossible without, depending on the wave
Also, when the waves get big, a rudder maintains directional stability more effectively and with less effort than non-rudders. I know I know, edge, sweep, etc, but if you need to hold an edge and do corrective strokes for 3 miles (or 3 hours) life becomes unpleasant real fast. If youre in an overtaking wave or open water breaking wave situation, a rudder is very, very useful and I wouldnt want to be there without one.
RE the âwhy does a loaded boat recommend a rudderâ - My guess is, Edging works because it changes the shape of the hull at the waterline, and creates an imbalance of pressure similar to an airplane wing, which causes a turning force. A heavily loaded boat will sit lower, and the hull profile will change less as the boat is edged. Also you have less freeboard so you have less edging âreserveâ. Last, more mass towards the ends will inhibit turning, and balancing a load becomes challenging. If you have ever had something heavy shift unexpectedly while edging youâll appreciate the rudder. Thats my guess
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I view the purpose of the skeg and rudder is to aid in directional control or tracking. If they both do the same job, why the need to have a kayak come from the manufacturer with both? If a kayak is design as a hard tracker, a rudder would be preferred as it will aid in turning. If the kayak is not a hard tracker, either skeg or rudder is helpful but why would a kayak need both? That is my question seeking an answer.
IMO, a kayak doesnât need both. As this thread suggests, most paddlers have come to prefer one, the other, or neither.
Perhaps there are manufacturers that believe offering both is a marketing advantage for customers that have not yet established a preference?
My Seda Viking came with a rudder, but I never installed it. True that I did not use the boat on the ocean or big rapids, but Lake Champlain can get owly from time to time and I never felt a lack of control without it.
Sliding rudder pedals are HORRIBLE. Toe controlled or gas pedal controls like Sea-lect are great.
If you have a rudder better practice paddling in wind without it. If a cable breaks you wonât be in a state of shock. Only happened to me once. Inspect cables closely for corrosion and wear although they should last for many many years.
Pulling or using a rudder is a one handed operation unless you the hull is about 25 years old.
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I donât see a rudder impeding turning. Edge over the combing slightly and rudderâs not doing much.
The only skeg boat I have paddle is a Eddyline Journey. I think it sucks for many reasons.
You donât have to see, but try it for yourself!
Make a sharp turn and turnaround with the rudder up and then down.
In a kayak with much drag in the stern (also called skegged stern?) the difference may be not really noticably, also depending on the rudder design, but in a kayak with not much drag in the stern (also called rocker) it should. (At least in my kayak it sure does make a difference and sharp turning is enhanced with the rudder up.)
The performance of edging also depends on the design: not all kayaks are designed and behave in the same way as often is assumed. Some designs are easy to heel and respond much to it, others not. I prefer designs that are quite neutral in their behaviour when edging with forward speed, because it gives a more predictable behaviour when paddling in side waves and prefer a rudder instead for easier course keeping with weather helm.
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Not bad in my CD hulls. You can always haul a rudder up also.
Hull design comes into play. The CD kayaks that PaddleDog uses are mostly or maybe all - lots of boats so easy to lose track - are generally out of the Solstice line. One was my first sea kayak. Most in that line are considerably stiffer turning than newer designed hulls with skegs.
I loved the range I could get out of that kayak in more challenging conditions. But over a couple or so seasons I also came to not love the stiffness compared to the newer designs, or the deck that was high enough to make rolling much harder for me at 5â 3.5".
Yes it is too bad that often is assumed that all touring kayak designs perform the same when it comes to edging in relation to course keeping and maneuvering (although course keeping is a maneuvre too, of course).
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If a rudder cable breaks the rudder can be made functional in the field by just hooking a bungee to the side of the rudder that has the broken cable to some rigging on the back deck. This will pull the rudder toward the side with the broken cable. Then use the rudder pedal on the intact side to position the rudder where you want it.
With a skeg, if it gets jammed by that perfect pebble that is waiting for you on the beach and you kink the rudder cable when you try to deploy it, you are usually SOL. The cable must be replaced, which is often a bit involved and not easily accomplished in the field.
In all of the years Iâve been paddling Iâve only see one boat with both a skeg and a rudder. It was a boat that originally came with a skeg and the person did not like it.
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Kinks in wire skegs are a danger. To ameliorate this problem, it is useful to attach a cord to the skeg (at the opposite end as the skegâs pivot) which dangles below the kayak. Then, if you find that you have a pebble jamming the skeg while far from shore, a fellow kayaker can come alongside and pull on that cord to âunjamâ the pebble. If youâre alone that option doesnât exist.
I always do this for my skeg boats and then mark the deck so my fellow kayaker knows where to reach under the hull for the elusive cord. Iâve only had one incident where this was important.
On the other hand, the rope skegs on the older NDK boats were relatively easy to repair in the field.
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I first encountered a similar solution implemented by John Dawson who was rigging a rudder for a person who only had one leg.
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What would be some other reasons it sucks?
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Well said. Weâve been paddling 23 years and use our rudders 100% of the time
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This is a lot like beating a dead horse. If you can control your boat without a rudder or skeg, you donât need one. If you canât, use one or the other. The easiest way to figure it out is get in the boat and paddle. Nobody can tell you what you need. Unless they know the boat youâre using, where youâre paddling, the conditions you face, and your level of skill. Go out and paddle your boat and figure it out.
The seat is hard and horrible. Deck rigging is light and cheap. I donât like the combing either. JMHO
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Thanks for the info, opinion 