Kayak Trim

Paddling a kayak that does not have a rudder or deployable skeg must be properly trimmed for the paddling conditions. Making continual course corrections because of wind /wave conditions can be exhausting or even dangerous if you cannot maintain the direction you need to be headed.

I do a lot of day paddling which usually means little or no cargo. Since my kayak does not have a rudder or deployable skeg, it needs to be trimmed by weight distribution to paddle in crosswinds to minimize weathercocking or leecocking. I found this is best accomplished by locating the seat (and the paddler’s weight) to trim my kayak to be wind neutral. Moving the set back reduces weathercocking or forward to eliminate leecocking. Trimming a kayak to the design waterline is a good starting point but it is the crosswind performance that really matters. Only moving the seat fore or aft by trial and error in crosswinds assures the best results.

If the seat cannot be moved back far enough to eliminate weathercocking then more aggressive trimming is necessary which could include adding a fixed skeg, extending the cockpit back, adding ballast, adding a deployable skeg or adding a rudder.

When adding cargo for multiday trip, care must be taken to maintain the trim to avoid weathercocking or leecocking. Duane’s recommendation of twice the weight in the aft hatch compared to the weight added in the front hatch works well (because the front compartment is usually twice as far from the COB (or CG) as the aft compartment).

Many kayakers talk about adding a fixed skeg to increase tracking for following seas. This really changes the trim of the kayak and again should only be done to balance the kayak in crosswind conditions. Too much skeg will cause a kayak to leecock which is great for downwind tracking but unmanageable in a crosswind or even a headwind.