: I ordered the retractable skeg plans from CLC and I will be building it this
: Fall. One thing I noticed in the BWCA was, when my kayak was loaded it was
: worse in tracking. That didn't make any sence to me. I know it would be
: different with a skeg but I thought that was strange.

You might be better off with a rudder as it will be further back from the center of the boat.

As I recall you have a short boat. For any given width (beam) tracking should improve as the boat is lengthened. it is a matter of leverage. The water that is pushed aside has a certain resistance to moving out of the way. When that resistance is at the end of a long lever it has more influence than when it is at the end of a short lever. Long boat means a long lever. short boat is a short lever.

Consider the absolute worst in tracking: A donut-shaped innertube. Take a canoe paddle and sit in he middle of a floating innertube. As you paddle you won't get any propulsion to speak of. Instead you will spin like a top.

Sitting on the middle of a telephone pole would be the other extreme. That would be very difficult to turn. Compare that to a canoe with two people in it (one at each end). It should be pretty obvious that the double has some distinct turning advantages over a canoe with a single paddler sitting at the middle of the boat.

In between the donut shape and the pole shape are a considerable number of possible shapes, but generally, fatter lets you turn on a dime, and skinnier helps you go straight.

As for your boat, and why it loses some of its tracking when it is loaded. As I recall you designed your kayak so that as it sank deeper into the water it would become more stable. Did you widen the middle of the boat a bit in order to add some internal sponsons? I think your plan was that you would flood the boat to lower it in the water should you need to reenter. Well, it is possible that as the boat sinks lower in the water with added cargo the outline of the waterline of the boat becomes wider and wider as the boat sinks deeper and deeper. Effectively, your boat's outline changes with the added load, and presents a broader target for water resistance.

Adding a rudder -- moveable or fixed -- or maybe even a fixed vertical fin carved to look like a fish fin - effectively increases the length of the boat, and gives a lever that is located further from the center fo the boat than a skeg.

Just a thought.

PGJ