That is true, but I think in general most of us are using skegs while touring, for those occasional long diagonal off wind crossings where it just becomes a drag to have to edge and work one side all the time, sometimes for hours on end. When working continuously to stay off the wind just becomes antisocial because conversation stops due to having to save one's breath for cursing.

Yes it is probably a little rough at these times, but unlikely to be so rough that a normally placed skeg is breaking out all the time, if ever. I don't even hear people with stern rudders complaining of this.

In practice I have noticed, while paddling with groups of experienced paddlers, that people rarely deploy, or even think about their skegs, but when they are needed they can be a real blessing.

For the kind of paddling that I mostly do (and I suspect it is the kind most people do, people like me, who are getting on a bit and could be leaner and fitter than they think they are) which is day touring, sometimes with friends, along inlets, coastlines and island hopping, with crossings that do not require urinating in a bottle, a normally placed, no nonsense skeg that works is what is being sought. A skeg that is rarely deployed, but when it is, it should replace the need for constant physicality.

In fact, as I get older, I am beginning to view a reliable skeg as a safety feature for codgers.

Im all in favour of experimentation, and fancy skegs in fancy locations for playing in waves may be fun in certain kinds of boats for the few, but most of us would be too preoccupied with survival in tide races and shore break to be considering the use of skegs in these instances, never mind the nuances of their placement.

I am rambling now.

Et