Hi Kudzu

I guess SOF precludes the advantages of a skeg.

As your speed increases you will turn, no matter what, unless you use a rudder stroke (Rotating the torso and placing your paddle in the water right up near the rear gunwhale with the face outward) Some paddles work better than others for this. You may be lucky and find that simply leaning backward over the cockpit as you start going down the wave helps to keep the boat more on track in moderate swell. In some boats even a fairly minor rearward weight shift can make a fairly marked difference.

A rudder stroke does not need to be all that aggressive. Too much paddle can just slow you down and can also cause one to catch a crab, and that is only fun for the spectators.

Working well in even small following seas can gain one huge advantages in regard to covering distances.

Et