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Re: Commercial rudder comparo
By:JohnAbercrombie
Date: 6/12/2014, 12:29 pm
In Response To: Commercial rudder comparo (Dan Caouette (CSCWC))

John, what are you building? Which rudder to recommend totally depends the intended use of kayak.

Over the past few years I've installed a few different rudders so here's some thoughts on each. Prices are retail for the rudder only and for comparison only.

Dan:
Thank you very much for that info and pictures - saved to my files here. I'm sure other builders will find it useful as well.

My project is a 'fast touring' style kayak, so it sounds like the SmartTrack rudder would be a good bet.
The VanDusen is a very slick unit; I'll keep it in mind. I think it would need a different blade for ocean paddling, but that sounds fairly easy to do (flat).

For the SmartTrack, did it mount with the 'bayonet tube', or did you need to do some extra 'engineering' to mount it?

Do the Dyneema cords go into tubes under the deck? Any chafing problems?

BTW, I got the 'tiller for flat water racing; gas pedals/footboards for the ocean' recommendation from several sources. Now that I have a ski, I'm starting to get used to using rudder pedals, though it's far from the 'thoughtless' stage so far.

Messages In This Thread

Other: Commercial rudder recommendations?
JohnAbercrombie -- 6/11/2014, 4:41 pm
Re: Other: Commercial rudder recommendations?
Etienne Muller -- 6/11/2014, 6:00 pm
Re: Other: Commercial rudder recommendations?
JohnAbercrombie -- 6/11/2014, 6:13 pm
Re: Other: Commercial rudder recommendations?
JohnAbercrombie -- 6/11/2014, 8:32 pm
Re: Other: Commercial rudder recommendations?
Mike Bielski -- 6/11/2014, 10:34 pm
Re: Other: Commercial rudder recommendations?
JohnAbercrombie -- 6/11/2014, 10:46 pm
Re: Other: Commercial rudder recommendations?
Mike Bielski -- 6/11/2014, 10:54 pm
Re: Other: Commercial rudder recommendations?
JohnAbercrombie -- 6/11/2014, 11:33 pm
Re: Other: Commercial rudder recommendations?
Bill Hamm -- 6/12/2014, 1:36 am
Commercial rudder comparo
Dan Caouette (CSCWC) -- 6/12/2014, 10:04 am
Re: Commercial rudder comparo
JohnAbercrombie -- 6/12/2014, 12:29 pm
Re: Commercial rudder comparo
Dan Caouette (CSCWC) -- 6/13/2014, 8:39 am
Re: Commercial rudder comparo
JohnAbercrombie -- 6/13/2014, 12:46 pm
Re: Commercial rudder comparo
Ralph Merriman -- 6/12/2014, 1:18 pm
Re: Commercial rudder comparo *PIC*
JohnAbercrombie -- 6/12/2014, 6:09 pm
Re: Commercial rudder comparo
Dan Caouette (CSCWC) -- 6/13/2014, 8:22 am
Re: Commercial rudder comparo
JohnAbercrombie -- 6/14/2014, 11:55 am
Re: Commercial rudder comparo
Dan Caouette (CSCWC) -- 6/17/2014, 8:57 am
Re: Commercial rudder comparo *PIC*
Etienne Muller -- 6/17/2014, 11:32 am
Re: Commercial rudder comparo
Robert Horstmann -- 6/19/2014, 9:14 am
Re: Commercial rudder comparo *PIC*
Etienne Muller -- 6/19/2014, 3:30 pm
Re: Commercial rudder comparo
Bill Hamm -- 6/20/2014, 8:02 am
Re: Commercial rudder comparo
mick allen -- 6/17/2014, 6:46 pm
Re: Commercial rudder comparo
Paul Sylvester -- 6/14/2014, 5:58 am
Re: Commercial rudder comparo
John Messinger -- 6/24/2014, 4:44 pm
Re: Commercial rudder comparo
Malcolm Schweizer -- 6/15/2014, 4:03 pm
Re: Other: Commercial rudder recommendations?
John Messinger -- 6/13/2014, 8:50 am
Re: Other: Commercial rudder recommendations?
JohnAbercrombie -- 6/13/2014, 12:43 pm
Re: Other: Commercial rudder recommendations?
Dan Caouette (CSCWC) -- 6/13/2014, 12:51 pm
Re: Other: Commercial rudder recommendations?
JohnAbercrombie -- 6/13/2014, 1:38 pm
Re: Other: Commercial rudder recommendations?
John Messinger -- 6/16/2014, 3:42 pm
Re: Other: Commercial rudder recommendations?
JohnAbercrombie -- 6/16/2014, 3:59 pm