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the rudder is a pie shaped slice of the stern just below the waterline. the mechanism is under a hatch right at the stern. Ross's experience point out that rotating footpegs are a better set-up than sliding braces. In that particular boat I have heard that you have to have a full load in the boat for the stern to be effective in ruddering. I have used the one in the Dagger Baja, which is a shorter/slightly fatter boat. It does work reasonably well in the Baja, making that boat a very good "one boat for everything" kind of product for the sea kayaking market. I've experienced similar quality control problems with the Bajas rudder though. On the good side it's nice not having a big pokey rudder assembly. The ruddering/tracking action is very slight compared to the standard rudder set-up but the standard rudder set-up is kind of over kill in my opinion. I'm not sure if it is worth the engineering to make a rudder that can't extend below the bottom of the boat. I think I would rather have a skeg instead for simplicity. I think there is something to be gained in making a rudder that can fold into the stern of the boat without having the control cables extending out of the kayak, with the whole rudder pivot protected by a split stern.
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Guillemot Kayak - High
Performance Wooden Sea Kayak Designs
