: Weathercocking is when your bow is turned into the wind. What you describe is
: not weathercocking.

: How much do you weigh? This boat is designed for someone in the 180 to 220
: pound range. If you weigh less it could certainly be a factor.

: You must be comfortable with leaning the sheer in the water and doing a
: strong sweep stroke. This kayak responds much better with a native paddle
: & technique in those conditions.

: You can try moving your seat back or adding some weight in the rear hatch
: close to the seat bulkhead. This would lighten the bow and bring it
: upwind.

: A finally you can add a rudder. You can construct a nesting end piece to
: attach the rudder for the stern of the Panache if you wish to retain the
: stern stem shape. Strip a cone shaped strip piece to fit over the stern
: stem and add blocking to the end for rudder attachment. You can lock it in
: place with a bolt through the grab loop hole.

: Rob Macks
: Laughing Loon CC&K
: www.LaughingLoon.com

Okay-- now I'm getting confused. (It's Monday.) What the original poster described is "leecocking" -- the inability to point the bow into the wind (the opposite of weathercocking.) Adding weight to the stern decreases weathercocking, adding weight to the bow increases weathercocking, right? If he adds weight to the stern (either by ballasting or moving the seat further aft, wouldn't that make his problem worse? Doesn't the lighter end of the boat (in this scenario, the bow) have the tendency to be blown downwind? Or do I have that backwards......?

Julie Kanarr (I was one of those kids who got confused early on by the concept of left and right, thanks to an unhelpful first grade teacher who kept saying "right is the hand you write with" and I'm left handed....)