Speed
I’ve heard you get an extra knot for every flame point that you paint on your bow.
the rudder
is an advantage in some situations, that is until it breaks.
- a rudder can eliminate corrective strokes (so can a hard chine)
- helps control a kayak if the kayaker can’t with edging and corrective strokes.
Myself, I like a kayak that is responsive with the skeg up and tracks on rails with the skeg down. Also in 30 knot winds the full range from no skeg to turn into the wind, to all skeg with quatering seas and wind is the perfect balance.
Valley boats with rudders
Rudders used to be an option on Valley boats as recently as 2004. Maybe no longer…
Of course you can still order a Nordkapp from Sisson with rudder 
My QCC has a skeg…
Can be ordered all three ways. Just sayin…
That said, the 700’s LWL is really getting borderline for a skeg though, and there are time in certain conditions where a rudder would be better. Happy enough with my skeg, and rarely use it really, but it is nice for crosswinds on relatively mild water (where waves offer no shelter).
Oh no! Yet another …
… magical property ascribed to “chines”!
What can’t they do? L
Paul Caffin’s kayak
was an Arctic Raider.
The Arctic Raider is a modified version of the Nordkapp.
The cockpit in the Arctic Raider is way forward (speed?) but unbalances the kayak.
A slightly different Arctic Raider is available in Australia/New Zealand.
I was unfortunate to own one of those Raiders.
Let me tell you: the kayak was practically unpaddleable without a rudder. It would not track (a lot of rocker) and would severely weathercock.
Paul Caffin HAD to use a rudder on that boat or he would have spent half of his effort trying to keep it on track.
A decent skegged kayak will need very little skeg to correct weathercocking from a beam wind.
Now, if any of you paddles the Arctic Raider without the rudder, I would like to hear from you.
the Kari-tek skeg/rudder I have tried
was no better than a skeg, actually worse.
Certainly did not “turn” the boat.
The size of the blade is so tiny and being mounted not at the stern was less effective than a rudder.
The hydraulics have not been sorted out yet either (leaking master cylinder), so at this stage I would not have one.
Sisson Nordkapp is not
like a VCP Nordkapp.
wilsoj2, have a good look at the stern of the Sisson one and the VCP one.
You might notice that the stern has been modified (cut away at keel line) and is much more gradual slope than an VCP one (more vertical stern, less overhang).
Since I owned one like the Sisson (made in NZ but not at Sisson) and now own a VCP Nordkapp I have to say that the two are like chauk and cheese.
The NZ one would weathercock like crazy and MUST have a rudder, the VCP, well that’s something else 
How about a non-rebuttal and I agree
with you 100% !
Cheers,
JackL
Same here, but substitute the word;
“rudder” for “skeg” and just keep all the rest of the words the same.
Kind of makes me think the big differeence between rudderless, skeg or rudder isn’t necessarily the hardware, but probably the motor.
cheers,
JackL
rudderin on about nothing.
I paddle with two woman friends who both have Chatham 16’s and I know they would not have bought them if they had rudders. Both these women can roll and lean their boats and all that stuff. When the going gets rough, many paddlers like to push on their foot pegs for power and additional lock on the thighs if needed. I know that many people on the beach during demo sales, often buy a boat with a rudder and think of it as a steering wheel. I hear them talk about that choice a lot. The sales reps also use that as a sales tool to beginners. No sales rep is going to tell a beginner that eventually you will learn corrective strokes and to lean your boat and bow and stern rudders. I think there’s a place for both according to your paddling style. This excludes the racing group where the rudder is perfect.
and they’re slimming also!
Less caloric content in a chine!
Sisson Nordkapp
– Last Updated: Jun-17-09 8:47 PM EST –
I've never seen in person, let alone paddled, Sisson's version of the Nordkapp. You are right about the stern. Here is Sisson's own description and an image of the current version of the classic Nordkapp as modified by Sisson:
>Following our disastrous 1996 factory fire we decided to update the Nordkapp design slightly. The original Nordkapp had a very accentuated stern skeg which was designed before the days of rudders. The latest Nordkapp is designed to incorporate a rudder. The general fit out of the Nordkapp follows the same pattern adopted 20 years ago when we constructed our first boat from the then brand new mould imported from the UK. Apart from making the cockpit foredeck higher (increased leg room) in 1986, and fitting pod seats plus rudders as standard in 1987, the boats are largely similar to the very first production. The focus is on simplicity.< http://www.sissonkayaks.co.nz/nordkapp.htm
Commitment and Open Crossings
by Bill Taylor has Nordcapps with rudders on the cover and used in the expeditions.
http://home.online.no/~renge/btaylor1.html
in terms of holding course
– Last Updated: Jun-16-09 4:24 PM EST –
I could not agree more.
"Kind of makes me think the big difference between rudderless, skeg or rudder isn't necessarily the hardware, but probably the motor."
As the member of my regular paddling pod who often goes into scout and land first on beaches, then catch other folks, the day my good friend replaced her ruddered boat with a skegged one was a good day for me. No longer do I have to worry about getting cut up while catching or throwing her.
edit - wanted to post on a skeg vs rudder thread for the first time :-P
Thanks for your comments
You never know what is BS and what is real. I really enjoyed paddling the Falcon but at the time I bought it I was relatively naive. It took several long trips in difficult conditions to convince me it was BS. I haven’t tried one with a skeg, although I think I might like it. But, too late.
Rudders are like training wheels on a bicycle. They are for beginners. They are clumsy and clunky. MY BIGGEST COMPLAINT AGAINST RUDDERS IS THAT THEY DAMAGE OTHER PEOPLE’S BOATS when the rudder hardware bangs into other boats. Rudders are dangerous when people are in the water for rescues, etc. A bouncing boat in waves with rudder hardware is a dangerous weapon, especially the rudders with aluminum “wings” that protrude out to the sides. The cables are almost always frayed and scratch other people’s boats and tear holes in clothing - like expensive dry suits.
Rudders are the ultimate hallmark of a novice who has not yet learned paddles skills or edging.
If you need stabilizing, get a built-in skeg. Pass the rudder on to the newbie crowd.
@GuidingMike said:
… MY BIGGEST COMPLAINT AGAINST RUDDERS IS THAT THEY DAMAGE OTHER PEOPLE’S BOATS when the rudder hardware bangs into other boats. …
You woke up a 2009 discussion to complain about rudders. You’re like the people that bang their shin on the trailer hitch behind a truck and complain about it. Step away from the rudder.
Similar to some above but my response -
I had a rudder on my first sea kayak. I never used it because every time I tried I disliked the sense of things and pulled it up again, and it complicates rescue. (That was not a minor consideration when I was paddling with someone who refused to try and learn to roll for the first couple of years of our paddling.) I had to wrap it for pool sessions and the wire cable still managed to cut someone when they went by. Turns out a small section of the padding had been cut thru in getting the boat thru the doors and to the edge of the pool. So my decision, for my OWN paddling, was to avoid any ruddered boat.
But similarly to another post today, if I was doing major loaded expeditioning or racing I would reconsider the rudder thing because those are places where a rudder can make a difference over having a skeg.
Echo what some said above - if you find you don’t like a rudder, and with nothing in your use that requires one over a skeg, no reason to not just move to a skegged boat.