Fitting a retractable skeg to the Legend, part 1

In between the nice trips with the Shadow I also did some work on the Legend to add the retractable skeg. I had ordered a Kari-Tek cable skeg with a modern fin style skeg blade. In my opinion a good match for the sporty Legend.

adapted brush

Despite the preparation of tools and dry practice the job got out of hand very soon: The first fixation with thickened polyester resin went reasonably well but when I started to add glass tape to the sides of the skeg box it soon became a mess. After some thinking I came to the conclusion that the only way for a reliable fixing was to open up the rear deck to get ample access to the skegbox area. You see it sometimes on old kayaks with an after market built-in skeg. I decided to make the cut under the grip lines as this may be the least notable place.

opening the rear deck

the first fixation of the skeg box

After removing the surplus of polyester I could pour in topcoat to fill the remaining gaps. And I added glass tape between the side walls of the box and the hull. All of this was now much easier working through the large opening.

after the second fixation

The topcoat has nicely filled the space between box and hull and I could trim the edges of the skeg box on the outside.

after smoothing out

With the Shadow around Pampus isle

Today we originally planned a trip to the Marker Wadden but because of the wind we changed plans to a more safe trip to Pampus isle. Wind was a 4 Bft from the west. No sun today, but some rain. We went with a group of six.

I took the Shadow with both greenland paddles. A few days ago I had fixed the leak in the cockpit rim by filling it with polyester topcoat. This proved to be a good repair as I didn't feel any drops of water on my left leg today.

The first part of the trip was fully and partly against the wind. I used both paddles and both worked well to beat against the wind. Good to notice that I was able to make a lot of speed, also with the smaller paddle. Quite faster than most other paddlers in the group. As this was the first time I used the Shadow in a group it is another indication for me that it is quite faster than e.g. the Skarabee.

The Shadow did pound often on the steep incoming waves. I already had noticed this during other trips but compared today to the other boats it became quite obvious. The hull shape with it's rounded bottom between hard chines has apparently not the smooth entry lines as e.g a Baidarka. Besides the noise it is not really a problem. Even in this situation the Shadow has a dry ride.

Pampus isle, an old fortress

We took a short rest at Hooft isle as we couldn't land on Pampus isle because it is still locked down. Then we headed to Pampus into a quartering head wind and rounded the isle. On the way back we surfed a lot and again the Shadow proved to be rather fast compared to the other boats.

It was a really nice trip and I enjoyed the Shadow and both greenland paddles.

Paddling the Greenland power paddle

Last sunday I had the chance to test my new Greenland paddle with the experimental 'power blade'. I took my normal Greenland paddle as spare paddle on the deck to be able to compare. It was a nice day with a wind of about 3 Bft. I took the Shadow and enjoyed paddling this boat. Certainly on the way back I made quite a speed of about 9 km/h in a downwind 'surfing' over the waves. That was with the power paddle by the way.

The power paddle feels a bit less elegant to the hands as it is heavier (1000 g) compared to the normal paddle (800 g). I think now 1000 g is about the maximum weight for a fine Greenland paddle. More heavy and you will loose flexibility like my Schlegel Ozean paddle (1400 g) that is only suited to make simple forward strokes, no 'slicing and dicing', probably not only caused by it's weight but also the different cross section of the blades.

Rest on Hooft isle

The power paddle has also a slightly thicker loom (shaft). But the overall feel is the same, it is clear that both paddles are twins. So switching between both paddles is no problem. And the power? Well, it certainly has more power. No overkill, there is no need for downsizing. And it is not that I now missed power with the normal one, you compensate automatically with a higher paddling frequency to get the same back pressure. However I can imagine that in strong headwinds I will prefer the smaller one and the bigger one on downwind courses.

For now I expect the Greenland Power Paddle (GPP) will become my main paddle, and the normal GP my default spare paddle.

Nice, two wooden sticks on deck

An experimental power blade Greenland paddle

As mentioned in an earlier post: about-greenland-paddles I have a second greenland paddle that I don't use as it is clearly not as good as my first one. I think this is caused by the more blunt edges of this red cedar paddle without hard wood insets. Refining the edges could be an option but as the wood is very soft the edges would be prone to damaging.

it's the middle one

Some time ago the idea grew to extend the paddle with hard wood insets and in the same time making the blades wider. It should become a sort of a power blade Greenland paddle. There is a rule of thumb for the maximum blade width: you must be able to grip the blade with your hand in a C-shape. In my case, as I have long hands, I could reach to about 12 cm. With the current blade of 9 cm there is a lot to win.

In stead of glueing pieces of wood to the sides I thought it would be stronger to make a shallow groove around the edges to glue strips of wood in. So I tried but it appeared hard to make such a groove. I ended up by sawing completely through the blades because that is a lot easier. A very deep groove indeed...

sawing through the blade

Then I glued strips of wood in between both sides of the blade with epoxy. Of course around the edges but also one strip in the middle to prevent deformation while clamping both sides on each other. For this experiment I used some yellow pine, not really a hardwood like ash or oak but a lot harder than red cedar.

Wood strips glued into the blade

Unfortunately the strips were not a very good idea as there was a lot of filleting needed to make a well fairing profile. Glueing thicker pieces of wood to the sides would have been a better idea.

some epoxy filleting...

and a lot of sanding...

After a few times of adding epoxy fillets and a lot of sanding the result was a paddle with wide and thin edged blades. The width at the tip has grown from 9 to 11 cm. As the extensions taper the extra width reduces to 0 at the loom. By the way, my Schlegel reserve paddle is even wider with 11.5 cm. The result is promising but however not very attractive and it would need some paint to cover up the epoxy fillets. But before the final finishing I would like to try it first. You'll never know what changes have to be made yet...

The result left compared to my first paddle right

also compared to my Schlegel spare paddle

the Schlegel has no tapered blade

Legend refit, part 1

After the last trip I left the Shadow at the boathouse and took the Legend home for a refit.

For some minor improvements:

Better fixation for the backrest and adding knee braces

New decklines and elastics

Some gelcoat rework

And a big job:

Adding a rectractable skeg

The slot has been made already, the point of no return...

Paddling the reseated Shadow

As promished yesterday I made a trip today with the renewed Shadow. It was a nice sunny day with a 3 Bft wind. Ideal circumstances for a longer trip and to pick some waves on the lake Markermeer. This resulted in a paddled distance of about 34 km with tracks against the wind, with the wind and in between.

Trip of today to Pampushaven and Isle Drost

The main question is how the initial stability has changed by the new seat. Well, the difference is not that big actually but the boat seems indeed a bit less nervous. I think the primary stability is now about the same as the Legend but certainly not more. It is still easy to edge the boat from left to right before the secundary stability comes in. Probably the primary stability will increase by adding load but today I didn't feel the need for that. As the secundary stability is very assuring edging feels more secure than with the Legend.

Rest on isle Drost

The Shadow has a rectractable skeg but I didn't use it all the time. Compared with the Legend the Shadow seems a bit less sensitive to weathercocking or at least easier to correct with edging and corrective strokes. When correcting with the skeg it still seems a bit too small to cover the whole range of wind directions. When fully down the course corresponds with a quartering following sea and there is no reserve to leecock anymore. Despite this I surfed a long way downwind without a single broach. So, it may be not a real problem. Also nice is that correcting by edging still works with the skeg down.

A leak under the cockpit rim

During the trip I felt sometimes water dropping on my knee. It could be coming from the sprayskirt but I feared it would be more structural. When back I tested the cockpit rim and indeed there is a leak in the connection of the rim to the deck. There is some silicon kit under the rim and that is always suspicous. The leak is probably on the transition of the deck into the thigh brace.

Today the Shadow proved to be a nice boat to paddle. It is more responsive than the Legend and feels a bit safer by it's higher secundary stability. It may be a bit slower but a better candidate to go to sea with.

A new seat for the Shadow, part 5

I am glad to say the Shadow is ready for paddling again! It took some time to make the new seat. Of course it took more time than expected. As mentioned before I used plywood and epoxy to add the sidewalls and flanges to the new old seat.

The plywood extensions glued to the seat

Then the outside and inside were covered with carbon sheet using epoxy. I used the normal carbon woven cloth that is quite stiff and not so flexible to follow all curves. Well, I managed it with acceptable result but actually the curves of the seat were quite a challenge, especially the inside.

The carbon sheeting on the bottom side

After the sheeting was complete I added the slot for the backrest. I have been thinking on different ways to fasten the backrest but this is the most simple and most elegant way.

I also have been thinking a lot about how to fix the seat in the kayak. Finally I decided to glue it on the bottom like the original seat. This guarantees it is as low as possible and this was one of the reasons to replace the seat. Besides, there were reinforcement strips laminated on the bottom to support the original seat, so I am not afraid of excessive load on the hull. The top flanges are now fixed by two bolts that reuse the existing holes beside the cockpit rim. These holes were once made to fix the old backrest to.

Result after rough sanding

Also for the fastening of the backstrap aft straps I have choosen the most simple way: two loops of cord fixed with polyester under the cockpit rim. I didn't want heavy bolts through the bulkhead.

Simple cord loop for the backstrap

Besides the main work to the seat and bulkhead, I also fitted new deck lines including a greenland paddle brace. And as I didn't quite trust the front bulkhead I mounted a plate to it to support the pressure of my feet. Of course there are still some jobs to do. For example the seat may be sanded somewhat smoother and may be covered with DD lacquer. But I like the matt finish for now and I plan to take the Shadow to the water tomorrow. I am curious how the Shadow behaves with the lower and smaller seat. And would it still needs more weight?

Paddling the skegless Legend, part 2

Well, my trip with the Legend was postponed a few days due to other businesses. No time for a long trip but happily I could do some little works on the Shadow. It is almost finished!

Today however I could find some time to paddle. It was a sunny day but unfortunately the wind was only a 2 Bft. Well, I could practise the corrective strokes anyway. My plan was to make a short trip but it became more than 20 km at the end.

The first thing I noticed is that the Legend is much more maneuverable without the skeg. However at the expense of directional stability, it takes more effort to paddle in a straight line. The former owner told me the skeg was placed for better tracking and I can understand that. The different tracking took some time to get used to. It is clear that without the skeg the Legend has become a far more vivid boat.

Even in this moderate wind weathercocking still appeared. The idea to make corrections only at the tail of the boat proved to be very effective. For example when making sweep strokes, don't loose energy in the first part but focus on the last part. Also the stern rudder works very good but it took some practise to make an effective correction without loosing too much speed. Well, I have to say that the weathercocking was not annoying anymore. The stern rudder combined with some moderate edging costs almost no extra energy.

Today's conclusion is that the removal of the fixed skeg has worked out fine. I like the Legend more and more, it has become a much more playful boat. Corrective strokes at the stern are very helpful to steer the kayak. Of course I want to test this further with some more wind.

Paddling the skegless Legend, part 1

Tomorrow seems a good day to go out with the Legend because there is some wind predicted. I am quite curious about the effect of the removal of the fixed skeg.

Despite the discolouration the surface is smooth now

Also I found an interesting video with Nigel Foster himself explaining weathercocking and corrective strokes to keep a kayak on course. He even uses a Legend :)

The correction has to be made at the stern. This makes sense to me as it is the same stern that is pushed away by the wind. The corrective stroke Nigel suggests is extending the forward stroke into a stern rudder. There you can push or pull the stern in the desired direction. The video shows some edging too. As always with Nigel Foster everything looks quiet and controlled, very attractive indeed. I am curious to try this tomorrow with my skegless Legend.

With the Skarabee to Volendam

Today I did a trip to Volendam with a total length of 25 km. The wind was max 2 Bft so it was a quiet but beautiful trip with great views on the lake Markermeer.

Skarabee with view on the Markermeer

For a change I took the Skarabee. It was a time ago I paddled my yellow cargo ship after the recent trips with the Nigel Foster boats. Compared with the Legend which is a sharp knive carving the water, the Skarabee felt as a beach bal, just wobbling on the water. And it was not tracking well without the skeg. Strange as how my experierence with the Legend has altered my opinion on the Skarabee. If the Shadow with the new seat will please me, there even might be a chance that I will sell the Skarabee.

Marken lighthouse

Volendam beach

More about the ideas of Nigel Foster

I have got some good feedback after my last post about the Legend. One of the tips was to read the book of Nigel Foster and so I have now one copy at home. It is quite interesting, quite different than the book of Derek Hutchinson for example. Nigel Foster is a very technical paddler and that shows from the first page. I only read the first part but it is good to read his explaination of a forward stroke with a sidewards sculling movement to prevent flutter and to make it more efficient. It is exactly the way how I move the greenland paddle through the water.

Interesting lecture

The kayak designs of Nigel Foster reflect his technical skills and they are designed to be easy managed, but only with good technique. Also the weathercocking should be manageable without a retractable skeg. On my Legend there is fixed skeg glued on. This prevents a certain amount of weathercocking but it also hinders the correction strokes. As I couldn't continue with the Shadow as the new seat was still drying, I had some time today to remove this skeg from the Legend. It should be removed anyway before I would add a rectractable skeg. Unfortunately it was very well glued on with polyester or epoxy so it took me some time.

Removal of the glued on skeg