JEM Watercraft

I've never paddled a kayak with a rudder, but would like to consider the option of one on my sabalo. Obviously they create drag, I've seen 10% decrease in speed mentioned as an estimate on the web. So first question... is this the case?

The sabalo effectively has a skeg at the transom - has anyone tried making a skeg-hung rudder for it? This could reduce the additional drag to near zero by blending the rudder into the hull rather than have a separate rudder in the water. This is what I mean:



Has this been done?

It's be done on the Eno canoe but I haven't heard of it being done on the Sabalo.

Do you know if it make things any more slippery? I'll probably make my own rudder either way, but if there's not much gain to a skeg-hung then i'll stick to a conventional job.

The builder installed the skeg to reduce drifting while he was casting. Wasn't worried about speed too much so he never said anything.