For a rudder retrofit, I’ve used this “from China” rudder and foot controls from ebay and the components work very well. So you can get most of what you need pretty cheaply. You still need a rudder bracket for the kayak and rudder cables as well.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/292044559818?hash=item43ff3655ca:g:Cs0AAOSwuQhcAtE1
SEA-LECT pedals are 80 rudder assembly 150. Smart Track Rudder System is 220 assembly & pedals. Not hard to install.
Pretty boat!
What is that?
Sounds super easy, it’d be cool if it works. I guess there’s no harm in trying it. Just have to be careful that the line doesn’t get caught on anything.
FWIW, I had to actually make the seat in one of my,kayaks flatter to stop it from kicking off sciatica. Try a rolled up towel in front of the seat first, but you may be odd like me and need to fill in the bucket.
I recommend cementing a thin layer of minicell to the bottom of the seat anyway, make it less hard.
Yeah, some padding for the butt and some support for the thighs like a rolled up towel or pool noodle might make a big difference. A section of pool noodle or an old, flattened foam block under the ankles/calves can increase your comfort level. And yeah, you want the rudder for windy days if you don’t want to work work work to stay on course.
Some folks like to paddle with their legs fairly straight; knees unbent. That is NOT good for me. Part of this kayak thing is figuring out what is good for you. Best of luck.
The risk of entanglement would outweigh the benefit imho.
You want your cockpit clear.
Regarding the Sea-Lect (formerly Sea-Dog) and Smart Track I strongly recommend the Sea-Lect. The Smart Track came with QCC kayaks which my wife has. Because of the way the cables are routed at the pedals it puts a lot of strain on them. We’ve had to replace the cables twice due to broken and frayed cables. On the advice of Annapolis Canoe and Kayak we finally replaced them with the Sea-Lect foot pedals and cables. A few years later, and no problems. I’m not sure but I think we kept the Smart Track rudder assembly itself as it has been no problem and still works with the Sea-Lect foot pedals and cables.
The challenge in retrofitting a boat without a rudder is routing the control cables while keeping the stern hatch storage area watertight. Takes a little work. You also have to install fittings for the line that deploys the rudder and a fitting to park the rudder.
Trailing a line with enough drag to enhance tracking seems like the drag would significantly slow the kayak.
Ok here’s the plan: I bought sheets of 1/4" and 1/2" minicell along with one of these nifty looking seat pads and I found a pool noodle in the garage. I’m going to remove the thigh brace foam and experiment with seat padding and once I figure that out I’ll start working on installing/shaping new thigh braces (I bought enough of each size foam to use for both purposes just in case).
As for the rudder… sounds like a good idea but also sounds like a bit more of a project than I want to take on right now. I’m a lot more interested in paddling right now, especially because I have the weather for it. If the rest of the season turns out to be a drag because of the weathercocking, then maybe the rudder will be a good winter project.
Thanks again for all the advice! I’ll report back with results when I have them.
I’ve never used one of these things but I had heard about them:
I think the rudder will be the way to go if you go out in the wind.
A sea anchor is pretty much what it sounds like. It is generally used in high wind conditions and deployed from the bow or stern to keep the boat aligned with the wind and waves to minimize the chance that a boat will roll over due to high waves hitting it broadside. Sea anchors are often deployed if a boat loses steerage or power in an area too deep to use a conventional anchor.
Sail boats often use them in extreme conditions to ride out a storm where having more than a minimum of sail deployed could be dangerous. It also slows the boat from being driven downwind. It can free up the crew from having to run an engine and steering for the duration of the storm.
It can be useful in a fishing kayak again in keeping the boat aligned with the waves and slowing drift while enabling one to concentrate on fishing.
A sea anchor by design has a large amount of drag when deployed. While in a normal kayak it will lessen the tendency of a boat to weathercock or leecock, it will also make it very difficult to make any forward progress or speed.
Can the seat pan be removed from the tabs that come down from the coaming? On one boat I found the seat pan objectionable so I bought a Happy Bottom seat from CLC. I was able to cut down the middle of the hip pads so they could slide over the seat tabs. I’m not saying it will work in your boat but it was a huge improvement on mine and required no modification to the boat. Modified seat is on the right:
Unfortunately I don’t think that’s possible. The seat and the coaming appear to be a single unit so I would have to cut it out, which I would prefer not to do.
I did try out the seat pad and it seemed to help, but I foolishly also changed the position of the pedals and removed the thigh braces at the same time so there were too many new variables. Suffice to say, results were not as good as I hoped so I’m going to move the pedals further away and try again soon.
Seats are a funny thing. I really like the seat on the left, and knew it as soon as I started paddling my Whisky 16 Rocker. I did fill in those hollow thigh brace areas underneath by gluing in some foam, so that I could glue a thin pad of foam across the bottom of them. It worked out better than I had imagined for simple and secure thigh braces. That is a really fun kayak for playing in waves.
Now I can relate that slippery seat to my feet not getting tingly. Now I can’t say this is you, but tingly feet is a very common thing among paddlers from simply keeping too much pressure on their feet. Anything that causes people to be a little bit more tense vs a little bit more relaxed, such as directional control issues, tends to make folks keep even more pressure than normal on their feet. My first thought when I read the original post was to suggest that you pay attention to not maintaining constant pressure on your feet. Right after your right blade is planted, you use pressure on your right foot to the extent that it rotates your right hip back a little, and your left hip forward a little. Think about being light against the seat, and using as little pressure as possible to accomplish this movement. If you feel your back pressing against your backrest, this is not useful pressure, and should be eliminated to the best of your ability. Right after that quick twist and stroke, the pressure is off of your right foot, and completely off of it as you put pressure on your left foot after your left blade is completely planted. Now getting these leg muscles involved, even periodically during your paddle in between arm paddling distances, creates increased circulation through these areas. The result you’re going for is increased power that doesn’t feel like you’re working the paddle harder due to smarter and better involvement of different muscles in your strokes. And increased comfort due to eliminating harmful and counterproductive pressure points as well as increased circulation through your lower half. But to keep it simple, you might just practice backing your foot off of the pedal as you’re doing a stroke on the opposite side of the boat.
This is the first thing I would have you think about.
Thank you, this tracks pretty well with my experience. On my most recent outing, it took conscious effort to not have my feet/knees/back totally braced and locked it. I think I need to extend my pedals forward a bit so I vary the pressure on my feet as you describe.
The seat pad I ordered seems to be working well. I got some self-adhesive foam as well but I’m reluctant to install anything permanent until I get everything sorted. By which I mean, getting better at paddling and settling into a relaxed pace/full body movement wherein I’m not constantly readjusting and reminding myself to relax. Funny how I seem to have the same problem with keeping a death grip on my paddles and I need to relax. I imagine it will get easier with more practice.
Indeed they are. My wife strongly prefers the factory seat and backband but I found them uncomfortable. I also used 1/4" minicell foam in the thigh/knee areas and think that should have been done at the factory. I also smoothed the inside lip of the cockpit rim where it makes contact with your thighs.
Seats are really personal. I love the seat in my Cetus and @Lillyflowers isn’t fond of it. She loves the seat in her Seguin, and, you guessed it, I’m not fond of it.
You need to sit on it and talk to your butt.