@Shadepine, while looking for Tempest parts, I came across some these topics from earlier paddle forum posts. Some of the replies made me want to weep, because the comments reminded me of a more recent thread involving fitment for a 170 Tempest and speed. After “circling the barn” the solution was to get a Greenland Paddle. @Craig_S might find the content amusing.
Three things:
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This is more than likely an issue with your stroke. Sea kayak strokes aren’t the same as whitewater strokes and just because you were a slalom racer at some point years ago doesn’t mean you’re gonna be able to hop into a sea kayak and do it perfectly from the get go today. I’m not a whitewater paddler but I’ve helped train a few as sea kayakers and there’s differences. Habits can also be hard to break. I’d advise you to seek out an instructor and get a tune up on your form before bad habits get ingrained. They might see something that you are missing.
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Tempests are classic, highly regarded boats and they’ve been in production for over two decades. The odds of your boat being warped or out of whack are small, WS has that hull pretty dialed in at this point. The smaller Tempest 165 has been my main boat for the last few years and I’ve spent time in the larger one too. Both are perfectly capable of holding a course even in the wildest conditions, they were designed for that. The biggest variable in a Tempest (or any kayak) is the person paddling it, which takes us back to item #1. Blaming the kayak because it doesn’t go straight is like a writer blaming their pen for a misspelling.
- If you’re paddling in flat water, I’d suggest you quit using the skeg. All it’s really going to do there is help mask deficiencies in your form. If your goal is to go fast on flat water, it’s also creating drag when it’s deployed.
Huh what… I’ve been away for a bit and playing catch up.
Someone point me to the funny stuff.
@JollyRoller I resemble that remark, I cam from the white water world and have never really transitioned to the flat-water stroke. I paddle the Tempest and The Tsunami generally without Skeg or rudder unless conditions are bad enough to require it otherwise the boats go straight where I want them to go until I want them to turn then we go less straight. 
I use a whitewater stroke, with a 60 deg feather on the paddle and can pretty much do it for 3-10 miles racing or 15+ touring. it’s all an energy management thing and ive developed the stroke to be very smooth clean catch and exit. (I’ll be damned to tell you how I do it, but John has seen it.)
so moving to sea-kayak paddling I could never get the blades to work right low angle without a feather to them.
It is what it is I can go A-B, and for most purposes my Whitewater technique is good enough, though I’m done at 30 mi. though im not sure it was the paddling or the portages that killed me which on the last two involved a bit of mountaineering.
That was about another topic regarding the Tempest. I’d have to find it.
I am on Team “It’s the skeg or Boat” on this one. I think your paddle stroke is ok, I am thinking that most boats can tolerate a “less than perfect” paddler and still not pull to one side.
I like the suggestion to just push it empty, in calm water and see what happens. With and without the skeg down.
I took my skeg out recently because it was curved. I made a little press with some bricks I had lying around and I weighted the middle of the skeg and applied a heat gun to it. Surprisingly I managed to straighten it out, so that was a win. Paddling without the skeg except in certain circumstances (wind current) is probably the only time we “need it” , to offset the natural weathercocking from the boat’s design.
Curious how you’ll sort this out!
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I like the way you think.
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Wish I could find that type of technical data sheet for the Necky Narpa I just got my daughter!
More great posts all—thanks!
@JollyRoller - you might be right? I’ve never claimed to have a perfect forward stroke…but I’ve spent more than 10,000 hours paddling whitewater (over decades) and in the past few years have literally spent thousands of hours paddling long distances in a sea kayak. Which doesn’t mean I couldn’t still be oblivious to some bad habit…but I think it’s unlikely. I’m always obsessively attuned to every little detail in my stroke—to the point where if one side is a centimeter or two farther fore or aft than the other I notice it (same with hand position, blade angle, catch point, stroke power phase, etc.) I work really hard to be 100% symmetrical at all times.
Again, none of that is said defensively—I’m open to the possibility that (like unconscious bias) I’m just blind to some deficiency. At some point I’d like to paddle with a (known) expert for an evaluation.
And I’m 100% certain my skeg is bent. LOL I just don’t know how much influence a bent skeg would actually have on a 17-foot sea kayak like the Tempest?
@Stewthebassman - That’s a great idea! While I’m not opposed to spending $30 on a new skeg, this seems pretty easy. I’ll try it! It’s hard to be sure from the photo, but your skeg looks a bit beefier and stiffer than the one in the Tempest. Honestly I think the Tempest’s skeg is kind of skimpy. It’s made from very flexible, thin plastic. Thin is good (less drag) but flexible isn’t IMO.
Another thing that could work with mine is to apply some heat (carefully) with a heat gun to soften up the plastic…then press it flat under some weight against my flat, concrete garage floor for a day or two.
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My skeg is fairly robust, but yes I figured applying some pressure and heating it would do the trick, which it did.Since you know your skeg’s thickness you could do the same and apply the weight you think necessary. Worst case scenario you buy a new one 
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BTW…I have NO idea why other than “the economics of scarcity?” But the pre-2010 skeg for my Tempest (which is a 2004) costs $129!!! 
It might be that the 16 in stock are the last 16 skegs on Earth for the older boats? (So I better fix mine! Although I could probably have a new one machined from titanium for less than $129!)
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Doubtful 129 is nothing nowadays.
Wow! Topkayaker has ALL the old stock. Crazy! I’m sure you’ll straighten it out…
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How does the cable attach to the skeg?
I’m lucky my 180 pro is 2012 but the skeg is still $60 or some such, whereas the one for the 170 is only $27.
I had the thought that if I had to replace the skeg on any of my boats, the Two Tempest’s and the aspire. I’d buy a sheet of aluminum the thickness of the current skeg and the trace out it’s pattern and then just cut it out and use that. the only possible gotcha is how the cable attaches to the skeg.
thought about doing the same for the tsunami I have and replace it’s rudder with an aluminum one. though the engineering her is a might more difficult.
Just put a rudder on it & solve the “problem”. Contact Top Kayaker. Tom can walk you thru it & has the parts you need.
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Having use sea kayaks without rudders I found that I needed to put a lot more effort on one side to correct for wind drift and it was exhausting, especially wearing a wetsuit. When buying or renting any kayak I make sure it has a good rudder and steering control setup.
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when you paddle do you find that you are predominately leaning to one side more or less, or does your lean switch side to side a bit from paddle stroke to paddle stroke.
I ask as I find people who make this same complaint basically stay off axis, to one side predominately and this just slight off kilter, is in fact a minor edge turn, which could attribute to the issue you are seeing especially if you are seeing it on flat water, without wind to weathercock you.
The hard chines of my Tsunami, tend to keep me flat and keel pointed down. My Tempest being soft chined, will lean side to side stroke to stroke but that lean back and forth keeps it tracking straight, however I’ll deliberately lean slightly one side or the other and keep it that way especially if the wind is trying to weathercock me and turn the boat from a straight line.
get someone to follow you to examine what you are doing and see if you are keeping the boat leaned to one side predominately.
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I think two details of the OP have been overlooked and this thread took on the usual answer the answer aura. Did the OP mention the condition only happens with the “skeg down” and “the skeg is not 100% straight .”
I know he just a white water junkie in the past, but he sounds like a fairly competent paddler who successfully transitioned to “real” kayaking. Maybe I misread the OP.
I didn’t see that his skeg was bent, nor did I see anything regarding if the tracking was with skeg up or down, so I just assumed up.
But if it’s because skeg is bent, he can just remove the skeg if it’s plastic and use a heat gun to straighten it out.
when I got my Aspire it’s skeg was bent from Wilderness systems. I simply pulled it out laid it flat and heated it with a heat gun until it became soft and pliable. Then put a weight on it an let it cool the skeg is now straight as my workbench is flat.
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unfortunately the skegs for the Pro models, tempest 180 I’m looking at you are $65.
Too many responses to read, so apologies if this was covered already or if it’s not applicable, but…
Say, if it seems like the wind is pushing the front of your boat off track (i.e., away from the direction the wind is coming from), a simple change would be to place more of your stowed weight in the front of the boat than behind you. That reduces the front side surface area exposed to wind and increases the exposed area behind you. If the wind seems like it’s catching the back of your boat (i.e., you’re going off track pointing a little toward the wind), you’d do the opposite.
If you’re drifting the same way regardless of wind, then obviously this is not applicable, but I heard an instructor tell this to someone I was paddling with and she said it helped a lot, so I thought I’d share.
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