: Hi Heather, I read a book a few months ago about a woman your size that
: paddled an unruddered Sea Lion around one of the Great Lakes. And that
: kayak is a lot less balanced than the Tern. Personally I'd put one on.
: "most people" say really doesn't mean much when the winds gust
: above 20mph and you really do need to point in THAT direction. It's
: basically an emergency back-up in my mind. And as I'm considering the
: compromises for regular paddling,,,I don't know. If it's up there, the
: footpegs are squishy, the windage will accentuate any weathercocking,
: it'll be awkward to roll onto its stern to drain water out at the beach.
: Hmmm, I'm worthless on this one. How about another suggestion: epoxy in a
: lot of loops of nylon webbing for bungies under the deck, holding stuff
: down on the floor in front of the seat, behind the seat,tether the
: hatches, I hate it when stuff floats out of an upturned kayak. ps. make
: some rotating footpegs for the rudder. pps, make your own minicell
: bulkheads instead of the plywood ones. You can mount the front bulkhead as
: close to the foot pegs as you want, the reduction in storage volume is a
: tradeoff but I like the residual flotation. have fun, buy a box of latex
: gloves for the boat building.

Hi lee & heather

I agree with lee. The main use for the rudder is maintaining the course that you want irregardless of the wind direction. This can be accomplished without a rudder by edging or leaning the kayak but it's much more convienient to do it with the rudder particularly over several hours time.