Poll: Rudders

[Tryin']

Last month, I paddled a canoe with a rudder for the first time. It was nice in one way and a little soulless in another. Kind of like double vs. single blade, or maybe corrective stroke paddling vs. hit and switch. It was interesting to just be more of a motor than constantly adjusting some aspect of the stroke to maintain course.

I am in the process of spec'ing a new canoe build and a rudder is an option to be considered.

I would love to hear your opinions and experiences.

1. For a dedicated wilderness tripping canoe, are rudders an underrated upgrade or unnecessary complexity?
2. Has anyone here switched from a traditional setup to a rudder-equipped canoe? Did it change your opinion?
3. Why do sea k***kers almost universally embrace rudders or skegs, but canoe trippers generally don't?
4. If a rudder reduces correction strokes, does that translate into measurable efficiency or just increased comfort?
5. For those opposed to rudders: is your objection based on performance, reliability, tradition, or aesthetics?
6. At what point does improving efficiency become 'cheating'? Carbon paddles, bent shafts, foot braces, rudders—where do you draw the line?

 

[Gamma1214]

They are an abomination, surpassing even the double-blade as the greatest affront to canoe purity

I was SO tempted just on principle (and for the extremism of the option) but no, I don't find them equally repugnant. (then again, they're not nearly as ubiquitous as kayak paddles in canoes)

1 & 3) I can see where they would benefit someone if they are primarily or exclusively paddling large lakes but, in that instance, a sea kayak might be the better choice of vessel anyway. In deep water or during long open water crossings a rudder would earn its keep but that's not where I usually paddle.

2) Never tried one, probably never will because...

1 & 5) For my preferred tripping style, I'm paddling pool & drop rivers where the rudder would just be extra weight to portage or would be a liability in rapids (if deployed). Besides, I like the tradition and the aesthetics of just a plain old canoe (yet I recognize the hypocrisy of building solos instead of paddling a tandem backwards)

4) I do not doubt that a rudder increases both efficiency and comfort (on large water bodies) but (see above) I'll still abstain.

and, finally, 6) Good question. I don't use any of those things though... Does that make me a masochist, a purist or just a dinosaur?

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

I've only had a rudder on my outrigger canoe. It definitely eliminates the need for correction, either by single-sided correction or by switch paddling. I only switch paddled to keep both arms in paddling shape and to reduce muscle fatigue in one arm. Hence, a ruddered canoe is more efficient than correction stroking or (for me) switch paddling.

The rudder is not used to turn the canoe, but to keep it on line in angled wind and waves and when paddling up-current. It would be useless to me for my river preferences: twisty streams and whitewater.

I wouldn't want a rudder on an open tripping canoe because I don't think it's necessary and I wouldn't want the extra gadgetry. I probably would want one on a decked expedition canoe such as a Kruger, Loon or Monarch that frequently crosses big, open waters. If I owned a long, narrow, fast, racing-type canoe, I might try it with a rudder because of my favorable experience with the rudder on my former outrigger canoe.

Only one of my three seakayaks has a rudder, which became necessary because it is so rockered for flatwater travel. I prefer the simplicity of a molded-in skeg, never having been an expedition seakayaker.

I voted that rudders are underappreciated. Most canoeists don't need them, but also don't have much, if any, experience with them.