FishnDive wrote:Believe it or not Rich in a paddle yak the turning circle is better with the rudder out of the water than in it. You shouldn't actually use a rudder to turn a paddle yak, its more to help track straight into the wind. If you are turning a paddle yak, you 'should' use a sweep stroke, with the rudder down the rudder is the pivot point, hence giving a long turning circle, if you pull the rudder up on the other hand the pivot point becomes the centre of the yak so it turns in its own length and is much more efficient.Yako wrote:Welcome Lloyd
I'm surprised you took the rudder off??
Have you tried turning the yak in rough conditions (choppy or windy) without the rudder?
If the yak is 4m the turning radius can't be that great???
Learned that the hard way on surf day,. You can spin a yak to face the waves far quicker with rudder up rather than down, by using proper kayak strokes. In reality if you have a rudder deployed you will alter course with it routinely as it is convenient, probably at a cost of not learning correct paddling techniques. Then again fishos often aren't too fussed about proper techniques.
The revo16 is a bitch to turn or course correct by paddle alone, so I need to practice more as you can't use rudder control effectively when paddling.