: Hi there, Andy.

: Well, you caught me: I'm not much of a surf zone kind of paddler.

No offence intended :-) I don't particularly choose to paddle in surf,
its just that most of the good sea paddling in the UK is in places which
are kind of exposed - a lot of western Scotland gets Atlantic swell, as
do all the nice bits of Ireland with little islands. We were at St. Abbs
on Sunday (North Sea coast) with a harbour launch, but we would have
chosen the beach (saving a pound each on the cost of putting in in the
harbour if the tide hadn't been too far out. If conditions need a boat
with a skeg, it usually means a quick launch and punch out to calmer water
is needed. Pardon the big photo - it shows the sort of paddling we go for -
this zawn is in the lee of some bigger stacks, so the swell was quite reduced.
Six seconds earlier (another photo) the paddler was about five feet higher...

: I still prefer the single stiff cable method to operate the skeg, though. All
: the other ways to do it are either more complicated to make, involve
: waterproofing extra fittings, rely on bungee for positive deployment or
: retraction, or have some difficulty in their operation.

I think you are right. I like the cable method, both on my commerical
fibreglass kayak and on my own hybrid Cormorant. I was mainly wondering
if anyone knew of a different method which might be less fiddly to build.
Looks like no-one does

: You seem to have focused on sand jamming as your main complaint, yes?

With my hybrid, that was the problem, though I know how to build the
skeg box to avoid it next time (probably jam with pebbles instead...)

: Too
: little clearance and it jams too easily; too loose and it chatters.

Too loose and you get a lot of drag through turbulence in the box, even
with the skeg up. I'm not building racers, but I don't want to throw
away energy ...

Andy