I mostly teach White Water yakin' but I started out with a touring boat. I
was discouraged from buying a rudder for the first few months, and it made
me a MUCH better paddler, as I would have at first ( as most do ) thought of
it as a "sterring wheel". Once you learned to paddle properly, ANY boat
tracks. The hardest thing to teach a noobie in WW boat is to make it go
straight. And yes, I understand that a rudder can help in windy or cross
current conditions. Guess it depends upon one's sense of instant
gratification and willingness to put time into given activity. Paddle on!
"minicooper" wrote in message
...
i hope i'm replying to group: of course in retrospect i would have
enjoyed
a kayak with a rudder from the beginning. but it cost more, was my first
boat, the kayak dealer said i wouldn't need a rudder in morro bay. my
friend bought his with the rudder. i couldn't keep up. i was more tired
than he. it was more fun when i had a rudder too.
"KMAN" wrote in message
...
in article , minicooper at
wrote on 9/13/05 8:43 PM:

i have a necky looksha lv sport that came without a rudder. i used it
for
about three months with my friend with a rudder. for my birthday
present
that year, my friend bought a rudder kit, and had the kayak shop
install
it
for me. worth every penny (whatever it cost ... i don't know amount
because
it was a gift) ... it makes such a difference! check with your kayak
dealer
and see if they can help you.

Seems a better idea to try your kayak before you buy and not purchase
one
that needs a rudder to track properly.

"Argo" wrote in message
oups.com...
Has anyone ever retro-fitted a rudder to a plastic kayak? I've been
plotting how that might be done with the small, plastic kayak I got on
points. It doesn't track at all (which makes it great in a tight
slalom
run, but gives my girlfriend fits when she's trying to paddle across
flat water).

I'm not worried about the aesthetics of wires running along the top of
the kayak, if that would make it simpler. Is it possible? Is it a LOT
of work?

Argo
http://greenrealm.blogspot.com