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SOF adjustable skeg


Shark Bait

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Hi Jeff,

Over on the Blue Heron site you mentioned installing a skeg on a SOF. http://www.blueheronkayaks.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1759&p=17043#p17043

You mentioned you had a method for sealing the skeg to the skin and I am hoping you can give a few details on this. I am building my first SOF and an adjustable skeg is not an option.

Here on the South China Sea the conditions vary from dead flat to seriously wild. I would no more think of building a boat without an adjustable skeg than I would have a car with only one forward gear.

While I am here I would be remiss if I did not mention I like your informative and enjoyable website. I also appreciate the insightful advise you post on other forums.

Thanks, Shark

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I Almost didn't see this since it is the Design forum instead of mine. I just skim the other forums every once in a while.

I have what I think is a good design for the skeg and box. What I don't have is a great way to install it on the boat. My first idea was to attach it off-center along side the keel strip, but as I was building it I ran into a problem.

One thing you have to be careful of on a skin boat is when you hit something it will lift the skin upward. On the frames you have a big radius cutout so that it clears in all but the worst impact. If you hit something and it lifts the skin and then hits one of the frames that is good place to tear the skin. The only boat I ever put a hole in happened exaclty like that. I was playing in moving water and I didn't have enough clearance at the floor boards. Granted there was something VERY sharp in the water but it just marked the skin till it hit the floors. Then it ripped a big L shape in the skin as it peeled it open. Lesson learned!

When I attached the skeg box along side the keel I was creating a corner to snag on and I was just not comfortable with that so I didn't go through with it. To install one I think you need a wide keep strip so you can attach the box to the top of it and cut a slot in it for the skeg. Pretty sure that would work but it would require a redesign of the boat, new plans, etc. and none of my boats really need it in normal conditions.

In big water where you have some big waves it would nice. If I get caught out in a summer storm I wouldn't mind having a skeg for running down wind. But there just isn't enough demand to justify the effort. Y

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