: Hello,

: I confirmed it as of yesterday. My Night Heron can be a bull to
: keep tracking straight and avoid the dreaded weather cocking.
: While only bad at certain angles relative to the wind I have to
: do something about it. I am contemplating adding a skeg ? but,
: not really sure of the design or placement. Please respond if
: you can offer any suggestions or plans to painlessly correct or
: install a skeg on my Night Heron.

How long have you paddled it? I felt the same way the first season I paddled it and built a skeg, but then I didn't get it installed in time for a big event and took the boat without it. The first day we had following and quartering astern seas. I agree, it's a handful and takes some skill,(I feel like dead astern is harder to handle than quartering) but previously my worry had been keeping up with people because of the corrective strokes and I found that I was at the front of the pack because the "corrective strokes" kept me moving forward, while they were only paddling part of the time and depending on their skeg. So I decided to go without the skeg for another season.

I had a chance to paddle in some 5-7' waves close to shore, and my NH smoked all of the other boats. It seems to paddle better the bumpier the water, so I find that the problem is worse in flat water. If you mostly paddle flat water I think it's a better idea to have a skeg, but then again it's mentally exhausting to be on big water a long ways from shore and be fighting to keep from broaching on every wave too. Personally- I've paddled mostly whitewater this year, but I think that like in whitewater the corrective strokes will soon be just strokes, and I'll be fine.

Bottom line is, I wouldn't be hasty to make changes.

You may want to do a search for Don Goss's remedies for this problem. He is light for the design, and he solved the problem by adding a small permanent skeg just aft of the cockpit. It corrects the tracking a bit yet keeps most of the maneuverability. I outweigh him by 20#, so I'm closer to the design weight. If you are slight as well that could be a lot of the issue, in which case I wouldn't hesitate to add a skeg.

m