Rudder as Skeg?

Advice
#1

Hey If I paddle the Sea-1 on my knees does it make any sense to fix the rudder angle and use it as a skeg?

It would be fairly simple to tie off the foot pedals and just raise and lower it as needed.



Anybody ever try something like that?

#2

All the time Tommy.
Until I got my Mohawk double for my Penobscot 16, I always carried the rudder (when solo) and dropped it down around 70 percent for that skeg effect. I would rather focus my paddling on forward motion versus corrective strokes when using a single paddle. Just my own feeling on the subject.

I use a control stick versus a tiller (common on double-enders) so I just kept the stick bungee’d down so the rudder stayed straight.

Works great.

#3

sure
any tracking help you can get at the stern is good and with a ‘set’ angle then you can work on corrections via strokes, per usual.



steve

#4

Sea 1
Hi Tom,

Hey, I see you got yourself a Sea 1! Glad you like it. I’m still very impressed with the boat and would not hesitate to use it again for another trip across Canada.

Your idea with the rudder sounds valid to me, let me know how it works for you.



Cheers…Joe O’