: Hi Reg-

: I was kind of hoping you would reply. I've watched your
: skeg/"skeel" demo videos. I've run across a couple of
: Illusions (which are pretty rare in the Great Lakes), but I
: didn't really look at the skeg very closely.

: So aside from performance-

: Are you saying that the blade tapers along its length? Does the
: slot in the skeg box then taper as well? What material is the
: skeg made from? I am thinking of a rope-control version similar
: to the P&H skegs, which kind of necessitates a wider slot,
: at least at the axle. My overall concern is not disrupting the
: existing handling or performance, but giving me a helping hand
: in strong wind conditions, now that I've lost some weight and am
: a bit over 20# under the boat's designed paddler weight.

: m

Yes Mike it is like a pie slice with the axle hole at the small end and a cable groove 6" behind that. The skeg boxes are laid up over an oversize plug that is machined with the same taper as the blades. That way the inside surface is smooth and parallel so grit can't wedge.

The skeg blade material is StarBoard. I route the taper on a sled jig. The things I do would be too complex to make just one.
My next experiment is going to be trying 3/16 or 1/4" material untapered.

http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/userportal/show_product.do?pid=13880&familyName=King+Starboard+Starlite+XL
You can find smaller pieces on Ebay.

Let me go take a couple of photos to post.

Reg