: I am just getting ready to tape the hull and deck together on my Guillemot
: 17'.
: Since I have not yet paddled one, I was wondering just how well they tracked.
: I have been paddling a Valley Skerray with a skeg and have gotten used to
: the rocker for tight turns or small lake manuvering, and then use the skeg
: for
: tracking,,,, if I don't use the skeg it is quite hard to control in any wind
: or when tracking is needed. It appears the Guillemot has a little less rocker
: than the skerrey, but maybe it would be a good idea for a skeg in the
: Guillemot?
: Any idea's ??????

Ron;

After reading a lot in the archives about the G17 and its "highly manueverable hull design and moderate tracking," I decided to build a retractable skeg in mine. I'm not that strong a paddler yet, and I wanted some "training wheels" on my first boat, as well as some tracking insurance for the future. I patterned my design on the P&H skeg system, which seemed relatively simple. (I rented a Capella one day and gave it a good once over) The whole thing took about 12-15 hours to build and install, and it works flawlessly. I haven't taken the boat out yet (too cold in PA), but I hope to put it in the water sometime in the next two weeks- I'll let you know how it goes!

Todd