Any size difference
between the old and new skegs?
If I were you I’d give it a few more outings before crediting just that for the improvement. Be good if it’s so, of course.
Mike
P&H Boats
I’ve had the same issue with following or following quartering seas with all the P&H line including my capellas. I’m happy to say I finally broke down and bought a boat that has no issue with quartering or following seas. An Impex Force CAT5. I no longer spend 1/2 of my efforts fighting a boat that can’t decided where it wants to go.
It’s a function of shape and less rocker on the Impex, the skeg is out of the water less and hence, more effective, and boat design makes in much more “in control” in tougher following sea conditions.
surfing/skeg
Cary G.
I finally replaced the original skeg with the new glass reinforced skeg into the CETUS, much stiffer and it has made all the difference, still!, the CETU&S is a skeg dependent boat but I don’t have to do all those corrective strokes slowing me down.
Horst, I got my new skeg from Dinver but
it is the same as my old one (I think). What did your new skeg look like? Is it identical in dimension? Is it identical in everything but stiffness? Thanks for your opinions. I want to make the Cetus work better for me, it is too good of a boat to not try to get this improved. Bill
new skeg
I installed the new skeg on my Cetus. It is the same shape as the old one, but significantly stiffer. So far I have only been able to surf 1-2 ft waves, but I have noticed a very significant improvement. If it performs the same on larger waves and with a load the issue is resolved as far as I am concerned. I have also been surfing the waves diagonally as an earlier poster suggested, using a stern draw when needed, and have been having a lot of fun and success with that.
Peter
new skeg/foil
Bill, the new skeg is the same shape as the old , however, it is much stiffer. I had the oportunity to get out into some pretty strong winds with the new skeg , and it made a huge difference in the following seas, the boat tracked well with the stern locked into place.
I’ve moved the backband and foot peddals back ~ 2in. moving my weight sternward, almost all of my kit is stowed behind me and in the day hatch, moving the weight of these items sternward also helping to weigh down the stern and locking it into place in following seas.These changes have helped make the CETUS the boat it is.
Horst
Great! As soon as I get my new bottom on
I will make the same moves and see how she does. Thanks for your help with this post. Have a great summer. Bill
one more issue with P&H skeg
There is another issue with P&H’s current “kink free” skeg slider system. I have the Delphin 155 as well as a pre 2007 Capella (old, skeg cable system). While they have eliminated the potential kinking problems with a skeg cable and made field repairs easier, there is a fly in the soup with the current system… retracting the skeg, particularly in cold water situations. When you push the slider forward, the skeg retracts, however, when you release the slider button the bungie tension pulls the slider back a bit before it locks on a notch. This results in the skeg being partially deployed even though you have pushed the lever all the way forward. The more tension on the bungie (in the skeg box) the more the skeg remains deployed. The only work around is to push the skeg slider forward without touching the click slider button. This requires some special focus, you need to push the slider forward with your finger tip (finger pointed straight and used as if a pencil or a stick). You can also do this with your thumb tip. This works, but is not ideal. Versus not having to look at what you are doing, you need to be very deliberate and focused, likely not an issue for the vast majority of situations. Doing this if you are wearing a neoprene glove is a horse of a different color because the space you must push on with your fingertip is not big enough to accomodate a digit inside a neoprene glove without hitting the click slider button… resulting in a partially deployed skeg. Obviously, this will compromise your maneuverability.
You can decrease the tension on the bungie cord in the skeg box by moving the stopper knot on the bungie further back, but I’ve found this does not resolve the problem as in order for it to eliminate the issue, you need to eliminate almost all tension and you end up having a floppy skeg. Net result - P&H makes some great warm water boats. I love their boats except for this issue. The fix seems simple enough, redesign (beef up) the click slider so that pushing it forward without engaging the release button is not problematic.