-- Last Updated: Aug-25-09 8:00 AM EST --
I'm getting a canoe. Should I get it with a rudder or skeg? Which is worse?
...also...would a Tilley be a less worse match with a rudder or skeg?
Depends
Re the Tilly - wood or carbon paddle? And will it be bent or straight?
There must be rules about this.
Both… you keep the hat.
I say a canoe should have a rudder
http://sports.webshots.com/photo/2463669330063026580GybRVS
http://sports.webshots.com/photo/2257359500063026580ZkTXFz
and if you lash the steerstick it becomes a skeg… sort of.
I actually paddled the Opsrey with the “skeg” on a few trips. It worked pretty well to minimize corrections. But it did nothing to prevent the Osprey’s tendency to broach in following seas. I was SO hoping it would help with that.
Rudder, not skeg.
Rudder is very good on my Summersong.
I’ve never worn a Tilley, so no opinion on that.
I think a skeg would be very useful
for those, like us, who travel with a 15’ whitewater boat that is reluctant to track on an occasional lake crossing or placid river run. The skeg could pivot from a Y yoke clamped to the gunwales near the stern. That way if it strikes an obstruction, it can just be pushed upward without damage.
Tilley = Rudder
No question.
Lee Board
On my canoe I had a lee board at the center. It was ideal. Push it forward in the water and you turn upwind oust it back and you go downwind. You did even need a paddle at all, but it did help to have one to tack an gybe faster. Another nice thing about a lee board is that is can be easily removed and repaired. Mine was about 4 feet long by 12 inches wide about 3 feet of it was below the water line.
NO…
No rudder, no skeg, no tilley.
Get a big motor, and a big boom box.
Make lots of noise, stink up the area, pollute the water, and aggravate the paddlers.
BOB
MR Independence, Clipper Krugger Canoes
I’ve seen pictures of an Indy with an internal skegbox.
IIRC the owner at the time didn’t feel that it was worth the lost gear space.
I always wondered if that was a factory skeg or an aftermarket.
IMO the Clipper Sea-1 needs it’s rudder. I’ve heard varying opinions as to the Krugger Seawind and Dream Catcher needing thiers.
If I had the Tilley…
I think I would mount the skeg to it. Less weight. Take care to mount it straight so you don’t walk around in circles.
Is this a troll?
If it is,you forgot the hooks and bait.
YEAH
I like the way you think!
ahem…
Bait and hook and trawling posts belong on the Fishing board.
rudder
if you can get or rig a decent one. I liked TommyC-1’s rudder - that was cool.
As the kayakers argue, good paddle skills are important. I spent plenty of time getting good canoe paddle skills, but now all my boats have rudders. I would rather spend all my energy moving forward rather than corrective strokes, or constantly switching.
As far as Krugers go, I have tried paddling mine without, and it’s way easier with it.
Poor Krousmon
Thought he made a funny.
Who’ld a thunk some of us would take the subject serious?
Hey one man’s ridiculous is another man’s fancy.
Y’all can still keep the hat.
Everybody likes a good rudder/skeg post
I never hear about rudders/skegs on canoes…always kayaks.
I just assumed that canoeists were better paddlers and didn’t need them…
…or that they didn’t take their boats into rough conditions like the bad-ass kayakers.
The Tilley part is serious, though.