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.

 

[Alan Gage]

My only experience with rudders has been on surf skis, which I often paddled with a single blade. For keeping a straight course (especially in wind and current) and concentrating on forward strokes they're fantastic. I've thought about installing them on a couple of my canoes but have never actually done it, mostly due to the complexity of doing it well.

While I do not believe they are necessary by any means there have also been plenty of times when on trips where I would have loved to have one (crossing large lakes or paddling for endless miles in beam winds).

I would worry a little about damaging them while portaging such as whacking the stern on a rock or tree when turning and not being clear of obstructions.

Alan

 

[scoutergriz]

My #1 boat already has a slightly skegged stern that can be pinned just by shifting my gear back. and the boat I run my motor on for bigger water fishing already has a full keel that does basically the same thing. I have been in canoes where the misguided owner added a rudder and found that the only thing it increased over any of my boats was drag and ability to snag submerged rocks, branches and logs.
Proper trimming did just about everything a rudder did without adding weight or another thing to catch on the environment

 

[Boatman53]

My kayak had a rudder but it was a kayak.
The only time a rudder is rally needed on a canoe is when you are sailing. That said I’ve sailed without a rudder by using trim or a paddle to act as a rudder if the water is too shallow.

Jim

 

[lowangle al]

I won't be adding a rudder to any of my boats, although I can see their usefulness. Over the last few years I've learned to use my hull as a rudder and it's changed my paddling.

 

[yknpdlr]

Get a canoe that neutrally performs in the way you want, or just go get a d...mn kayak with a double paddle and rudder if you can't control your craft on the water. I take pride and enjoyment in the ability to single blade single side paddle, rarely switching sides only for muscle relief, not normally needing any ultra-aggressive control strokes for forward straight motion or carved turns.

Paddle a canoe in the traditional way it is meant to be propelled. Straight wood finely made paddle, or carbon bent shaft racing paddle, it is still propelled and directionally controlled by muscle power and sense of purpose with your body. As an old time canoe instructor once told me: "get your head in the water". Not literally of course, but the fine essence of canoeing is the mental connection of body to paddle to water all to control your craft. Take my single blade paddle and my smooth bottom canoe from my dead, cold wet hands.

 

[Chip]

A few years back I went to the Western Pennsylvania Solo Canoe Rendezvous. As I was going into lunch I looked at the fleet of canoes at the water’s edge and thought I saw canoes with upright rudders. But, that’s not what I saw. Somebody had taken some large bird feathers and wedged them into the ends of some of the canoes, sticking straight up. From a distance, looked like rudders to me. I grabbed some lunch and sat down with a group of people I didn’t know, who turned out to be a bunch of freestyle aficionados. The ensuing conversation went something like this:
Me: did you see those canoes with rudders, I’m excited to see them, there’s times I’d really like to have a rudder
FS group: if you learn to paddle your canoe, you don’t need a rudder. Learn to handle your canoe and it will steer for you
Me: seems like when you are paddling a big, open body of water and have a beam wind, a rudder could make things a lot easier
FS group: skilled canoeers don’t need rudders, they get the canoe to do the work.
Anybody remember this? Maybe you were one of the freestylers. Did I get it right? On the above poll, the freestylers might pick “bad idea,” but would lean towards “abomination.”

I continue to believe that for open water paddling, a rudder is more efficient at maintaining direction than are correction strokes. The downside is rudders increase weight and complexity, and for most of us, they don’t make sense. In addition to helping control the boat, I feel that the paddler in a ruddered boat will have a more efficient forward stroke. With steering delegated to the toes, the paddler can concentrate on maximizing the forward stroke without having to convert the forward stroke to correction or tossing the blade across the boat to switch sides.

So, rudder, or no? I think the answer is, it depends. Consider how and where the boat is going to be used and decide if the weight and additional complexity of a ruddered boat is worth it for that scenario.