Hey all,(Flatpick…?)
I was out last weekend on local lakes for the first time(s)in my 170.Its my first big boat/first skeg & what a sweet ride! On saturday, I got my first feel of the boat & liked it alot.A couple of easy hours with my wife,some small waves & wind.My first feel of a skeg.On sunday,I spent a few more hours with a friend exploring some local connected lakes,& I liked it alot more!The skeg helped in the considerable winds & I experimented with different settings.On the return paddle sunday I deployed the skeg to counter some wind & did not feel the benifet.The control slide also seemed to move quite easily.My friend came along behind & felt to confirm that the skeg was not down in the "down"slider position.I paddled the return trip skegless & was able by edging to counter the wind pretty effectively.It made me confident in the boat. Upon take-out I flipped the boat over to find a pebble wedged into the skeg recess.I removed it but the skeg will not deploy.If I manually extract the skeg from it’s recess,the control slider will retract it,but the slider will not deploy it.The cable can be observed sliding in the sleeve above the skeg-box but to no avail.
Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks,
PH.
Follow the Cable Housing
It likely came unclipped near the seat. Just clip it back.
…or maybe at the stern end…
Look inside the rear hatch.
yep an’ yep
forcing the slider down with a rock or obstruction holding the blade and something has to give. The vinyl tube generally comes off the slider next to the seat, or at the skeg box. worse case is the cable bends.
sounds like it came off at the seat. it slides back on. you can remove the seat (fairly EZ) and put a stainless hose clamp on for extra security.
good luck and glad you like HER!!!
steve
Design has changed?
Hey there…
Thanks for the advice guys.I maybe should have mentioned the boat was a demo,new to me but maybe two years old(?)By what you guys have said,I think the design must have changed as the skeg control is outside the cockpit on the right(starboard…!)side near the coaming.It is understandably then nowhere near the seat(?)…
I can see the cable move in the tubing as it enters the skegbox,so I guess its broken or disconnected from the skeg itself.There doesn’t seem to be any access except where the cable enters the box,as the skegbox itself is formed with the hull.
Hopefully this helps.
Flatpick,I would also like to mention how I am(still)grateful & just plain tickled to be able to communicate directly & informally with the designer of my boat!She is only my second boat(have paddled several)& I have only paddled her twice(once without skeg in wind…as per post:))but I like her alot already! Thanks for that too.
Regards,
PH.
No change…
The slider mechanism is between the side of the seat and the hull, this is where the cable attaches and where to check. The control is outside the cockpit.
Hooray…Fixed!!
Thanks again for the help guys.I just had another look at things again before I would take the seat out & YAY!..as Flatpick suggested in his post the vinyl tube had slid off the rear assy as it entered the skegbox.The clamp provided allowed it to “ride-up” out of place when it encountered the obstruction.I slid the tube back in place & nothing gets damaged…kind of a mechanical fuse!
I will also add the small hose clamp as suggested.
I can’t wait to get out in her again.Not that the lack of skeg would stop me! 
(Insert happy ending here)
Thanks again all.
P.H.
skeg use
Don’t know if anyone told you but most people with skegs on their boats generally put them halfway down or so when running broadside in cross seas or down wind in a breeze to prevent weather cocking—why half way? It provides the best compromise between tracking ability(staying in a straight line) and manuverablity–put it all the way down and your boat will seem like its on RR tracks. btw I have T-170 and I find that when going upwind–either directly into it or no more than 20 degrees off the wind, the skeg should be left up to avoid leecocking which can be a problem in a large volume boat like the 170(lee cocking is the tendancy of a boat to fall off the wind when you want to go to windward—if my 170 is packed, this is not a problem—in waves over 3 feet and winds 20 knots or above, with an empty boat at my weight–180–the 170 does a tendancy to leecock particularly is the skeg is deployed–there are paddle strokes to correct this which I won’t go into here but putting up the skeg will help
another use for a skeg
The skeg does help with tracking by keeping the kayak from weather cocking and lee cocking. If you are paddling in a cross wind with the skeg up what usually happens is the bow is ‘locked’ and the stern is ‘free’ to be blown down wind (weather cocking). If the skeg is fully deployed then the stern is ‘locked’ and the bow is ‘free’ to be blown down wind (lee cocking). Try adjusting the skeg to some point between fully up and full deployed so that the bow and stern are evenly ‘locked’. Then you will track better. The skeg position will change based on the strength and direction of the wind.
This is the reason I use a skeg partially down - to keep the kayak tracking straight. As opposed to keeping it partially down to find a compromise between tracking and maneuverability.