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.
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