We headed out to the Columbia for a side by side comparison of the Smart Track and Sea-Lect rudder systems with identical F1 kayaks and identical sails. 1 sq meter sails, gusting to 30.
I like to test everything in the worst case scenario to check for any serious function or safety issues that may not otherwise be noticed in optimal conditions.
Being overpowered in a lightweight kayak with gusty swirly wind against hard current under a piece of crap flat cut sail certainly qualifies as less than optimal.
What I wanted to learn from this test was how the rudders performed relative to each other but also how much they would improve the experience of the simplest possible sail, and how the whole thing would or wouldn’t perform in bad conditions.
I was specifically hoping that I could crank it back down wind without paddle input if it started to round up in a hard gust, but with the lack of drive in the sail combined with the wicked cross current, big chop, and the drag from the rudders themselves, forced me to use the paddle to switch from a close reach to a downwind course even with full rudder.
Any traditional small boat sailor who has made a sail without any real shape to it and then overpowered it knows exactly what I’m talking about here. Weather helm AF. We’ll be making some better sails soon, hopefully.
Of course all of this gets MUCH better without the big chop (keeps the rudder in the water) and cross current and the actual correct size sail for the conditions, but that wasn’t really the point of this test.
The smart track is clearly the better performing rudder, but the sealect has a LOT of practical advantages. As usual I’ll be tearing both rigs apart and rebuilding them based on what I learned from this test. And then of course I have to try all that same stuff on my other types of kayaks as well.
Lots of variables, lots of time. Thanks to Liz and Dave for carrying the kayaks for me so my disabled ass can keep doing this work. FYI, Gonna be away from my phone for a few days so I’ll respond to comments in a couple days and days.
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