Bow Rudder

I've been enjoying my Hobie Outback for the last 6 months and have found that it can be easily sailed and pointed fairly close to the wind with the Mirage drive fins centered under the kayak as a centerboard to reduce downwind slippage. The bay where I like to sail however has a lot of skinny water that is too shallow to use the Mirage drive fins so I fashioned a bow rudder mounted thru the Mirage drive cartridge. With the standard stern rudder and the bow rudder, I am able to sail in much more of the bay than would normally be possible with the longer sailing rudder and Mirage fins inserted.

A picture is worth a thousand words but I basically mounted a 6" deep paddle board skeg to a 1/2" PVC pipe that I ran thru the bottom of the cartridge and capped with a PVC tee with a short arm fore & aft. The rudder (skeg) shaft is pinned to the tee with a keeper pin run thru a hole drilled thru both. The bow rudder is easily manipulated with either foot and does a great job of pointing the bow of the kayak in shallow water on a windy day and is especially helpful when sailing downwind.

The bow rudder is also useful when paddling and turns the kayak much faster than with the stern rudder alone. Plus it looks way cooler than the cartridge by itself. I also filled the cartridge with stable foam from a dispenser can to give it more strength and keep water out of the cartridge.

Fair skies and following winds !..................

Would like to see a picture. But like the idea for the tidal waters I deal with.


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