-- Last Updated: Jan-04-06 4:14 PM EST --
yes, call me crazy, but if anyone can give me some insight, pointers, kit suggestions, and/or supply sources i'd really, really, *really* appreciate it.
:-)
Noiseless peanut gallery equals…
…you can have a Pungo, and you can have a rudder, but you can’t have a rudder and a Pungo.
Dunno…
by the time you find a rudder kit onto the Pungo, you have probably sunked in almost $200 bucks plus time. Personally, I would wait another year, sell the pungo, take that money and add to the $200 and just buy another used boat that address or allow me to grow in the direction I want with my paddling.
You may say that you never want another boat besides your (first boat) Pungo. That comment is often made but very few actually stick to it. With time and water under the hull, most folks do have a sense of wanting another boat that may better meet their evolving paddling taste.
sing
(who again helped in no way with the original question.)
i dont need no stinkin rudder
just kidding. i picked up a used pungo last year. 12 ft seems to have been drug over alot of oystershells. who made these cause i have fallen in love with mine. tee
Wilderness Systems
makes the Pungo.
It doesn’t even look like it could accomodate a rudder, the way the plastic molded-in skeg sticks out. Look at a photo, you’ll see what I mean. Maybe I’m wrong though…
Donna
Sell it
Get rid of and get a good kayak instead. You’ll be better off.
Probably Can
put on a rudder, after removing that top handle and filling in the holes. That built in “skeg” or long straight keel line is there because alot of newer folks will have problems tracking, especially in any type of wind. That keel line will help keep the boat going straight but the width of the boat, and the lack of a snug fit, prevents most from being able to defeat the tracking by lean turns. It’s a design compromise.
I think one it’s probably better to move up to the Tsunami 140 (rec tourer) which has a slightly more rocker and narrower beam to make maneuverability easier. The Tsunami 140 has a rudder, which in this case, is probably there to help newbies track straight.
sing
Hmm
One must ask WHY? What do you want the rudder for? tracking? or turning. A rudder is not really used for turning. If thats the case go spend 50 bucks and take a few lessons, or better yet find a friend who knows how to paddle and ask them… You dont want to end up “Rudder Dependent”…
Sources for rudder kits
You asked for sources for rudder kits, so here are a few. I don’t know if they will fit on a Pungo or not - you might want to talk directly Wilderness Systems for advice.
Here you go:
http://www.feathercraft.com/rudders.php#rudder
http://www.gokajaksport.com/Pages/hardware.html
http://www.plentypupule.com/oceankayakrudders.htm
http://www.seawardkayaks.com/oemdefault.aspx?cmd=resetall
I haven’t been able to locate an online source for a Yakima rudder kit, but Tom at the Sit-on-Top kayak shop might be able to special order one for you:
http://www.sit-on-topkayaking.com/Store/Store2.html
From what I can tell rudder and installation kit (including foot braces) is likely to set you back something in the neighborhood of $200 - if you’re looking for a bargain, rudders and kits do show up sporadically on e-bay.
Good Luck!
Pungos are fine for some folks
My ignornace is showing certainly, but my Pungo Classic seemed to turn on a dime.
Doe the rudder keep a kayak going in a straight line when the wind is pushing to the right or left? I did have a couple of evenings where it seemed I had to paddle more on one side than the other to go in a straight line across open waters.
Don’t slam Pungos, some folks need the wider cockpit and the stability, because of a bad knee, fibromyalgia, or other reasons.
If you can handle a fanicer more upscale boat, more power to you.
swedge
Good advice. My first year of paddling, I became “rudder dependent”. Didn’t know any better, until I discovered p-net and found out I was supposed to learn to steer my kayak by paddling it. Novel idea to me at the time! LOL
Geez, now I can even paddle a ww kayak and stay reasonably straight. My padding skills have improved immensely from that first year and a lot of it I owe to p-net advice and info.
Rudder is used for turning my Sawyer
Summersong solo canoe when waves are too high to safely lean the canoe for turns. That’s a non-issue for kayaks with water skirts, though. Would also be a non-issue on the Summersong if I ever put a skirt on it.
Why do want a rudder?
It might be helpful if you indicated why you want a rudder on your pungo.
why?
and speaking of old pungo rudder threads
– Last Updated: Jan-11-06 3:06 PM EST –
lol, there was no response to this thread for so long that i forgot to keep checking it! what a nice surprise to find all this. :-)
for tracking, i think. i want one because more than once i have been photo-stalking a heron or eagle while floating down a stream, only to find myself heading to the bank.
so, i ever so slowly dip the paddle to make a slight correction in direction...and the bird flies.
sing, i have, indeed, been reading about "hip control" lately, and plan to try some of that when i get back out. if you can control the boat enough in that manner, it could be a better solution...if i can make it work.
lindakeith made my point. for a number of physical reasons the pungo is the best boat for me at this time. someday i may have the knowledge, skill, and wherewithall to build a custom boat, but until then the pungo is the best boat for me. as such, i have made it a goal to find ways around some or all of it's limitations, and become a pungo master :-).
having said that, i also really like the boat in its own right, which is even more incentive to master it.
thanks to everyone who posted. if anyone thinks of something else, please add to the info.
michelle
$179.00
Feather Craft Rudder complete
http://kayakfishingstuff.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=FCR&Category_Code=RD
Try before you buy
I think you will be disapointed at what the rudder will do for you in the situation you describe.
For a rudder, or a lean, to work the boat must be moving through the water. If you are drifting moving the rudder will have no effect. It’s the same as if you hold your hand out the car window. If the car is moving through the air you can feel your hand lift or dive as you change the angle. If the car is stopped you will feel no lift or dive.
You can rudder with your paddle to see if I’m right. Hate to see you spend a lot of time and money on something that won’t work.
Tommy
oh drat!
who makes up these laws of physics, anyway? 
thanks for pointing out the obvious says the oblivious