Mark,
where can I get that T-shirt?
I am serious, I want one...
I just found the perfect gift for somebody that I know

Guys,

What rudder option have you found works best on your M580's for different conditions ?

I have the extended rudder on mine and seems to work well in most situations as a good all round choice.

Thinking of fitting the shorter, flush rudder. Might be better for shallow paddling in weedy areas, or does it lack enough authority
for other paddling situations?

Cheers,

Paul.

G'day Sarge,

I use the flush 'racing' rudder exclusively regardless of where I'm paddling. It's perfect on the river, never picks up weeds and I rarely have to use it to keep tracking straight. I've never had trouble in choppy waters or swell . I find a lean, a sweep or a bow rudder usually gets me pointing where I want to go. If it gets airborne out the back of a wave I've never noticed it. Others may argue but I don't think the deeper reach rudder would make all that much difference, there is only an inch or two between them anyway. For me the longer rudder would be a nuisance (boat ramps, beaches etc) , you can't flick it up prior to landing.

Just my thoughts,

Garry.

Just an afterthought , if you get a chance have a look at the rudder on the Epic 18's etc. Very similar. Only a small tab extending below the line of the hull. Good enough set up to paddle around Australia, in all conditions. Although she was a rather skilful paddler.
I suppose, as she went anti-clockwise , there were only left turns involved.

Hi Garry,

Thanks for the thoughts.

I'm of the same mind regarding the full length rudder and having it collect weeds and just generally being a nuisance and getting scraped along the ground, damaged
etc when handling.

I'm about to order the flush rudder from Mirage. Geeze, a bit steep though at $110 bucks!

Cheers,

Paul.

I could live with either. If I was going out to play in surf or just in any roughish conditions I would rather the longer rudder. Never really had a problem with it getting hung up except for steep beaches. Because of the large cockpit it is easy to put the kayak on the water a get in bum first so that wasn't really an issue for me.

TIMAX wrote:I could live with either. If I was going out to play in surf or just in any roughish conditions I would rather the longer rudder. Never really had a problem with it getting hung up except for steep beaches. Because of the large cockpit it is easy to put the kayak on the water a get in bum first so that wasn't really an issue for me.

Hi Tim,

I think its another nice feature of the Mirage that we have options and the quick change if required.

Will be handy having a spare either way.

Cheers,
Paul.

I have both rudders, but generally have the flush one fitted for general paddling. However, I change over to my longer ("standard") rudder when sailing as it gives me more "bite" on the water and hence better control, especially in stronger winds.

owenw wrote:I have both rudders, but generally have the flush one fitted for general paddling. However, I change over to my longer ("standard") rudder when sailing as it gives me more "bite" on the water and hence better control, especially in stronger winds.

What sail are you using Owen?

I have a Pacific Action sail on my old Heritage that works great, but I'm saving my pennies for one of Mick's Flat Earth sails for the Mirage.

sgtwilson wrote:
What sail are you using Owen?

I have one of Mick's large (2 upper battens) on my M580, whilst my good ladywife has one of his medium (1 upper batten) on her M530. Whilst mine is theoretically faster (as it is slightly larger) it does not fold as flat on the deck as Anne's due to the extra batten. My recommendation, is that the overall convenience of the better stowage of the smaller sail for extended paddle/sailing, makes it the better choice. PS: We have a large PA sail fitted to our M730 double. This sail performs well in most conditions, but becomes a real handful when the wind really pipes in. This is particularly tricky for Anne (who sits up front) to get down/stowed, when the action gets a bit frantic.

Ive had a few sails on my 580 but now have one of Micks mediums fitted and it is great.Two other guys who I paddle with also fitted the same unit after seeing how well mine worked.They seem to work well in most conditions and stow well on the deck and do not get in the way of your stroke.
We took ours up the Noosa river last week and sailed across lake Cootharabah in a stiff breeze then up the river as far as it goes still using the sails when the river twisted to suit the wind.
Geko

Thanks for the sail info guys.

I'll check out the medium sail for my 580 then.

Cheers,
Pail.