> Craig,

> Don't be too quick to add the skeg. You can always add the skeg after the
> boat is complete. You may find the boat tracks fine for you without it.
> The installation will be a little bit harder, but it shouldn't be by much.
> The Guillemot and Expedition Single are two different birds (pun intended)
> and their handling may be significantly different. No use putting yourself
> through the skeg construction and installation if the boat is fine for you
> without it.

> Ross

Craig

Wooden boat, I think it was, published an article on retrofitting a skeg. It included all the details to build a skeg box from a plug, the skeg blade and the control unit. Basically it involved cutting a slot and installing a fiberglass skeg box from the outside. Very easy to do, the hardest part being to buid the box from a plug. One of the concerns that I would have is getting the box aligned straight with the boat. The other is the method of mounting the control cable housing, fiberglass doesn't bond well to plastic or nylon. I think making the housing port larger and using urathane glue might be better. One advantage of having the skeg box is that you can keep things seperated, some on each side of it. If you decide to install one before joining the halves, I would recommend using a single wedge shape instead of a clothes hangar shape.

. .

. . . .

. . . . .................. instead of ..................

(join the dots)

This gives same surface area without as much deployment depth and allows for a lower box then the one on my home page. Use a 1/8' 1x19 stainless steel control cable to increase the resitance in the housing, this will keep the skeg at your desired depth better then a 7x7 cable(too pliable).

http://personal.nbnet.nb.ca/gas/kayak.htm

Greg