My first sea kayak, one of three built back in 1974 in Vancouver together with my West-Coast friends, Klaus Streckman (who supplied the “Roger Bonet” mould and the fiber-glassing expertise) and Jan Bevelander (who kindly made the loft of his barn available as a workshop) is a fast and surprisingly manoeuverable craft.
Lady Evelyn Lake, ON (1983) FG “Eski” built in 1974
On open water, however, Bonet’s ~1970s rudderless protoype “Eski” has one major flaw: In any cross-wind, the flatter stern tends to slide laterally down-wind causing the bow to nose up-wind. In a cross-wind, therefore, a down-wind lean and strenuous one-sided power strokes, sweeps and even draws are required to stay on course. This makes for tough-going on long open stretches in a cross-wind.
Lake Solitaire, ON (2013) Painted FG “Eski” with DIY deck loops and lines
After many moons researching and contemplating all manner of skeg and rudder solutions, I finally came up with a “Skudder” design which offered the simplest and least invasive solution.
The Skudder is mounted at the stern like a rudder which can be flipped up and down, but it works like a skeg in that it is fixed in alignment with the keel and there is no foot-actuated steering in the cockpit. Hence the name “Skudder”.
Lowered into the water at an angle (up to 90 degrees) appropriate to the cross-wind conditions, the Skudder keeps the stern from sliding out laterally, thereby keeping the kayak on course without the need for compensating with one-sided over-steering.
With the Skudder lowered, a slight down-wind lean is virtually all that is required to keep the kayak on course, even in a strong cross-wind.
After the hull and deck were joined, we had packed solid FG plugs into the bow and stern which permitted drilling holes for bow and stern loops. The 3/8 inch Skudder axle bolt fit neatly into the stern loop hole, so no additional fiberglassing, glueing or drilling was required.
The Skudder UP/DOWN control cables are re-directed around a couple of micro pulleys attached to a DIY deck loop. The UP/DOWN toggles are located beside the cockpit for adjusting and holding the Skudder in the desired position.
