On one of my early designs, I had a real problem with a "loose stern". I ended up putting a skeg on it and it helped a lot.

I cut a piece of pine about 4' long by 1.5" high and tapered it lengthwise to a long wedge. I varnished it up before adhering it the boat, then use silicone caulk (RTV) to stick it to the boat. This had the advantage that I could remove it, if I didn't like it.

I feel I have fixed the problem on my later designs, but I know some people will find the Guillemot a little loose for their tastes, this system works well. I prefer the retractable skeg solution because it gives you more control, but a permanent exterior skeg is easier and probably more reliable.

> I dropped by Mariner Kayaks today and had a nice chat with the Broze
> brothers about skegs and such. They agree that skegs are better than
> rudders, and although one of their designs has a retractable one most of
> their designs do not. Theirs is molded into the hull, from the center of
> buoyancy to the stern upsweep, and the claim is that it reduces (prevents,
> in most cases) weathercocking, and also prevents broaching in surf. They
> advised that I temporarily fit a chunk of 3/4" stock to the keel aft
> of the cockpit, load up some tools and go play. Here is more of their
> advice. The skeg should not extend below an imaginary line extending the
> keel line from the center of the boat, so it doesn't get ground off on
> rocks and pebbles. Adjust the shape so that when dead in the water the bow
> blows downwind just a little faster than the stern, so that when underway
> and the bow is stuck in its own wave the lateral forces will act equally
> fore and aft. Take a plane, spoke shave, rasp, Surform or whatever your
> favorite shaping tool may be and carve on the mockup until it's right.
> When it seems right, try it out in different conditions and fine tune it
> some more. When positive it's right, fabricate it out of wood, fair it out
> and glass it in.

> It seems to work on Mariner boats. On the upside there are no moving
> parts, no leaks, and no places for pebbles to get jammed inside. On the
> downside, you can't adjust for different weather conditions or desired
> handling characteristics. Now that my adjustable skeg is almost ready for
> installation, here comes a whole new slant on the problem. Whatcha gonna
> do?