Michael Daly wrote:
ace wrote:
I'm really conflicted about whether to use rudder. I had a heck of a
time when I was rounding two small islands on the course. ALso, it was
difficult if not impossible to stay in the wake of boats ahead of me
that i was drafting off of.

The Solstice responds well to edging. If you know how to do that and
use it effectively, the rudder is not necessary. The Solstice GTS edges
easily; the GT is a bit of a challenge due to its high secondary stability.

In general, many ruddered kayaks handle reasonably well without rudder
deployed if the wind and current conditions are not too bad. As a rule,
you should paddle without the rudder until conditions really require it
and then deploy. If you find that you need the rudder almost all the
time, the kayak is a poor design. If you are paddling a Solstice and
need the rudder a lot, you need paddling lessons - the problem is in
your technique.

If you use the rudder all the time regardless of need, you'll never
learn to use the kayak and paddle effectively and will be vulnerable if
the rudder ever breaks. If you have a problem with bracing on mushy
pedals, remember that there are gas-pedal style foot pedals that allow
rudder use with firm bracing. You can buy after market retrofit kits
for most kayaks. I put Seaward pedals in my Solstice (sold it a few
years ago).

Unlike sea kayaks, racing kayaks are designed under the assumption that
the rudder will be used. They are not retractable and are always deployed.

You never see paddlers insist on rudders for canoes, racing or
otherwise. Personally, I don't see why kayaks should require them either.

Mike
Mike,

Nice analysis. As I'm on the racing == racing boat side of the debate,
I almost always favor a rudder during a race - especially if I'm
planning on living within 4-5 feet of another kayak. As you correctly
point out, most well mannered boats respond very nicely to edging or a
quick offset of the paddle, and don't require a rudder unless you are
fighting persistent wind/wave/currents. OTOH, I think I'm faster with
the rudder down most of the time in any of the boats like the Epic,
Stratus or definitely any of the 'long, tippy boats'. They are
certainly designed to be paddled as flat as possible, edging some, and
using the rudder to tweak position or make quick moves.

There are several good pedal alternatives to the 'old-style' CD
push-push pegs. Their new pedals are fixed position and rotate to turn,
and there are also a couple of variants of fixed peg w/toe push. The
old Seal-line Smart-track, which CD bought, and a system out of NZ that
has nylon adjuster straps hooking to 'toe-flaps'. Both of these work
pretty well. If you are in the Twin Cities sometime, I'll be glad to
let you try either.

Marsh

BTW, racing canoes don't have rudders because they are/were outlawed.
If racers could use a small rudder instead of as many draws and prys to
make riding easier, we would. In a heartbeat.