> I just built a skeg out of 4mm plywood and before I put on the deck of my
> Actic Tern I want to install the skeg but where? Can anyone help, the
> Arctic Tern is a hard chined hull if that makes any difference. Thanks.

I must admit to being a bit surprised that you built this skeg without first having a place in mind to put it.

But, as long as you now have it:

Most skegs I have seen are extensions of the keel. For obats that have no keel, this is an extension of the centerline of the hull, or the center seam if the hull has a `v` shape.

As George has pointed out, these things don`t do diddley if they are out of the water, so making one that comes above the water line is probably a waste of time.

Your boat's hull, when seen from the side will have a curved bottom edge. . If you look at this profile, the skeg's top edge would follow it, as it must, since the skeg is glued and screwed on there. The skegs's bottom edge tends to be a straight line, or a slightly curved one, which is no deeper than the deepest part (probably the center) of your boat. A skeg can start at the center of the boat and run the entire length of the back half of the boat, or it can be a portion of this length.

There are some skegs that look like the dorsal fins of sharks turned upside down and bolted to the bottoms of boats. I am not sure of the exact terminology here, but from my point of view, if you have a `skeg' like that on a surfboard, which extends deeper that the center of the boat, then I would think that it would act more like a keel, and i would (personally) call it a keel. But then, I'm the kind of person who calls anything that quacks a duck. Whatever the terminology, if you have these things (and I can't imagine why you would want them), they would mount on a kayak like their counterparts on surfboards or water skis. A single one would be centered, below the waterline and as far back as practical. Dual `fins' would be spaced equaly distant from the centerline.

I hope this helps.

Paul Jacobson