-- Last Updated: Jul-26-06 4:09 PM EST --
I have a Necky Zoar Sport. When I paddle on flat, calm water, if I stop paddling and let the boat glide, it starts to turn to the left. Is this normal?
-=greg=-
Blue State
If Pennsylvania is still a Blue State it is normal. However if your home state has drifted to the right then it is not 
What about other boats?
Do all boats you paddle turn to the left or only the Zoar?
RE: other boats
Hmm… don’t know. I’ll have to try my wifes boat and see what happens (the last time I did try hers, I don’t think it turned, but I’m not 100% sure).
did you vote for al gore?
should have! if not, consider the implications of having empowered what we have. do you feel empowered by the present scenario? if you do, then it won’t matter. no matter how you try to correct, the trend is toward paddling left. the pendulum has swung.
This Post Belongs on B&B!
Brent!
Brent!
Seriously now… try a little experimenting. Get some speed up and take a stroke on the left side. Your boat should veer to the right. If it swings to the left, that’s bad. Do this in all directions of the compass to discount any variable such as wind and current. If your boat keeps veering left, I’d join the Communist Worker’s Party if I was you. Power to the people! Right on!
Again with the seriousness. If your boat keeps veering left in all circumcisions, the damn thing’s probably warped.
Piece a shit.
Damn.
Can I pawn this piece a shit off on someone?
Will they beat me up when they find out it’s warped?
Damn.
too soon to quit too late to go home
jacob dylan? hey its upon us. paddle left or right. lucky for me i have a proficient j stroke
Boat circumcisions?
Just where is that a predominant cultural practice?
:R
– Last Updated: Jul-26-06 6:24 PM EST –
I'm glad everybody's amused. :P
Har de har har
danke
gracias, prego, etc. whatever its worth. seriously. try shifting your weight to the side it’s turning toward. is the seat off center? are you off center? is the planet akilter? yikes!
More serious response.
Much as I enjoyed the political answers, there are real answers. For most longer boats if you edge to the left the boat turns right and vice versa. So anything that puts more weight on the right side of your boat will cause it to turn left. Have someone look at your boat while you are sitting in it but not paddling and tell you if the boat is edged at all to the right. Are you snug in the boat or can your butt shift around? If the latter, check that you are not sitting off center to the right. Turn your boat over and look down the center line of the hull. Can you see any warping? What do you do when you stop paddling to let the boat drift? If you paddle your last stroke on the right the boat will drift to the left. Even if you do your last stroke on the left, if you are paddling stronger on the right the boat will drift to the left. Are your hands centered on the paddle shaft?
Serious reply
I think the “centered hands” thing is a lot of my problem. I’ve been addressing all the other points you raise (making sure I’m centered…), and it’s kind of inconsistant - more prevelant to the left, occasionally to the right. Once it starts, leaning has no effect.
-=greg=-
…
I have a CD Storm that veers right with the rudder up.
On closer inspection, one can see a slight but noticeable curve in the aft center line. Plastic boats being what they are, it could be factory defect or improper storage over the years. I hedge towards factory blem. My loss though- I bought the boat used…buyer beware!!!
oh, and two things…
with the rudder deployed, there is no veering whatsoever.
and I am Republican so leaning right is a- o -kay!!
so you endorse
the executive’s right to ignore laws enacted by congress
It’s good to be an independent …
…at least my boat goes straight…
although my boat was turning to the right today… lost my right paddle blade… 
Have somebody else try it.
You might be sitting off center too.
I had same problem
– Last Updated: Jul-27-06 2:55 PM EST –
I bought my first kayak, a Current Designs Kestrel 140, a few months ago. The first thing I noticed was how it would always want to track left when gliding. I could paddle on the left and after turning to the right at first....it would just track left again. Very frustrating....especially after forking over $1,000 for boat and a little gear.
I was told to try a few things:
Lean the boat slightly to the left to turn it right: This is not very effective in this CD boat. It works....but is difficult.
Shift and center my weight...experiment: Did very little at all to correct the problem.
Be aware of the wind and understand weathercocking: This helped. I learned that the kayak acts like a weathervane in wind and the kayak actually turns into the wind. Like I said, being aware of this helped...but did not fix.
Since then, the more miles I put on this boat the easier it is to keep it tracking straight....even in windy conditions. My paddling form is getting better and with it....the tracking. Many times, I'll just have to add a little power to one side or the other and adjust as I go. I think thats what most people do anyway.
But after all that? I STILL think it tracks to the left too easily. Now I'm just used to it and adjust when I need to. At first it bothered me all the time. Now? I notice but blow it off. Besides, as soon as I get myself worked up over it....it starts turning to the right. Arrgghhh!
Paddle placement
– Last Updated: Jul-27-06 4:02 PM EST –
Another thing to check is that during the stroke when wanting to go straight you are placing the paddle in the water close to the side of the boat, equally on the left and right. These effects may compound. If you’re leaning a little to the right you may also be placing the paddle out farther from the boat on the right.
I considered using the terms “port” and “starboard” to avoid political puns. What you’re hoping of course is that your boat doesn’t itself lean left or right or even independent, but at your beckon call. With time that will be more the case in any event. I'm near the beginning of my journey too.
Paul S.
going the other way
My friend had a similar issue with her new Perception Avatar 16, except it had tendency to veer to the right. After inspecting the cockpit, it appeared that the seat had been installed incorrectly and the dealer agreed, so they remounted it so it was “straight” (they also gave her some $ back as compensation for her trouble). After taking the Avatar out again following the repair, she encountered the same problem. This time, she did some measuring and found the whole boat was warped. Fortunately, the dealer was very understanding and allowed her to exchange the boat for another and that solved the problem.
A couple unrelated side notes to the story. Even the new(est) Avatar had a molding problem of it’s own, but fortunately a relatively minor one. The slot which secures the seat back to the seat pan wasn’t deep enough, allowing the back to slip out. We compared it to another boat to comfirm this. It was remedied by the shop’s tech who routed out the slot, and now it fits fine. The shop owner told my friend he may not be carrying this boat next year because of all the problems he’s been having. Don’t know if this applies to the Avatar only, Perception poly boats or all of the Confluence stuff in general.
must sit exactly in the middle
As big as I am, I still have an inch or more of play on the seat. If I don’t sit smack in the middle, the boat goes off either to the right or the left depending.
My politics though tend toward the left sometimes radically so and otherwise perhaps not. Everyone needs to be working and getting paid a decent wage, too many folks under age sixty are collecting checks and living off the wages of those of us who do work. Some people think I am very right wing first because I work at all and second because of where I work.
Sometimes it is best to sit in the middle and go straight on ones own course in life. It also keeps the kayak from drifting off.