Hey thats pretty cool, in Perth but we got a fair few Fenns with kick up rudders cause Fenn has done a few for the Avon Descent.

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You freak. Do you know you are the 'pin up' boy of Dubai Paddling. Your photo in the Shamaal is all over all the promo stuff the Marine Federation run for the event. You are everywhere - now a VIP in Dubai.

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You can buy new V10/V10Sport surfskis from Epic with a kick up rudder installed. TG Canoes (in San Marcos TX - USA) has a couple of these boats. I suspect that you can order this item from Epic to retrofit. On the boats that I saw, there was no quick way to change from overstern to understern (this feature is available on Huki boats).

-Tommy

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Interesting home project, I noted that he shifted the blade forward to be under the pivot to neutralize helm feel. I have been contemplating whether there may be benefits to getting more rudder feedback through the pedals or if neutral helm is preferrable. Expert sailboat helmsman like to have some feel in the helm, but they want to feel the balance between sail forces and appendage forces. So if nothing else this project got my mind thinking about things.

Anyway, I respect anyone with the skills to build their own equipment. It appears the rudder blade is just a flat plate, not a hydrodynamically more efficient foil shape. I suppose taking the blade to a grinding wheel could improve that if desired. Not sure what I think of the rudder being mounted with duct tape? duct tape is good for a lot of stuff, but that's a little sketchy to me.

Perhaps by running this article, surfski.info will inspire Epic to develop a quality kick up rudder for their surfskis. Maybe they already have something in the works. Maybe they will offer their surfskis with the wagging tail rudder like on their 18X sea kayak. Somehow I doubt this

While the Epic faithful wait, there are already some nice alternatives in production that could be adapted to work on a V10 or any other surfski. Here are some other kickup rudders that some may be interested in checking out:

Here is a link to a very slick all-carbon kick-up rudder made by Onno and mounted to Huki surfskis with with no extra work in a couple minutes. I am sure it could be mounted to other surfskis. You might have to do an epoxy end-pour and drill a hole in the transom to attach it, but the results will be more hydrodynamically efficient
and professional looking, if that matters to you:

http://tinyurl.com/5ww24y

Here is another rudder option by OneOcean kayaks that is available as plans or a kit that should be easily adaptable to a surfski. The website also has some thorough information on the application of hydrodynamics to kayak design that some of you may find interesting:

http://www.oneoceankayaks.com/Wshophtm/Shop26.htm

Here are some other add-on rudders by Kengineering that I found with a quick Google search. These are used by high performance Canadian builder Simon River Sport Kayaks:

http://www.pxtkayaks.com/accessories/rudders.htm

I am sure there are more options out there if you poked around. What do you think? Is there enough demand that Epic should consider offering a kickup rudder option for their surfskis? Huki must think so since they have had one for a few years. Or is Epic wiser to let someone who really needs a kickup rudder make one themselves or adapt one of the existng rudders already available?

Jonathan

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