: I have recently laid my hands on a 4 metre fibreglass whitewater kayak that I
: want to use for an overnighter/play boat. The trouble is that as I get to
: a decent speed on the flat, because it was not desisgned for this, it
: tends to try and change direction right or left! Any suggestions as to
: change this? A guy at a fibreglass company (I needed to make some small
: repairs) suggested I glass a keel onto the back end using EVA foam as a
: core. I am confidant I can do this but any firther advice would be
: appreicated.
I have paddled such a white water kayak for almost 30 years. Mine is a late sixties Letmann 68. With practice you learn to paddle straight in most conditions and become a very good paddler in the process. I recently got tired of controlling it in cross waves and added a small skeg made of exterior grade ply bonded on with a fillet of polyester bog and some cut pieces of 6 0z cloth. I rounded the edges of the plywood gave it a coat or two of polyester and two coats of polyurethane varnish. The Skeg is about 6" deep and about 10" long and does not go deeper than the bottom of the kayak. It cost almost nothing and seems quite strong. Without the skeg I used to give it a score of minus 15 out of a 100 for tracking ability. Now I would give it about + 75 % . It is so much better in waves and more relaxing to paddle.
Brian White