: the reason people (or more
: importantly...me) like to use a skeg they are cheap and easy.

If that's the only reason you're installing a skeg, it seems to me you're missing the point. If you really want cheap and easy, glue a small plywood fin to the bottom of the boat. Cheap. Easy.

Skegs offer micro-adjustability to change your boat's trim. You are able to selectively "dial-in" the center of lateral resistance of your boat to better cope with different wave and wind directions. Set a ferry angle and just paddle, no need to worry about weathercocking, or constant sweep strokes.

:if your
: going to build something like greg's design why not spend the extra $ 60
: to $70 and buy a rudder system. i appreciate your input. like anything, it
: all comes down to, "what i like". hopefully, this has all aided
: in some way of making a decision. again, good luck. brett

But skegs and rudders do not function quite the same. Most (but not all) rudder systems use sliding footbraces that totally screw up your bracing, rolling, and other maneuvers that require some solidity underfoot. Skegs do not allow this problem.

Rudders have the potential to create much more drag than do skegs. Their mechanisms allow them to rotate far past the point where the blade begins to stall and ventilate. Because a skeg's angle of attack is 0* (parallel to the centerline of the boat), they do not stall in forward motion, and only add a slight amount of drag when (not if--but it happens to all boats, skeg, rudder, or nothing) the boat sideslips due to beam or quartering winds.

Skegs offer less resistance to rolling. Not everybody rolls, but a boat with a rudder has a little bit more drag back there on the deck (or extended into the water) than a skeg (or nothing). A skeg can be retracted fully into the hull unless it's needed. It takes a lot more clever installation (and time, and resources) to make a fully retracting rudder.

I personally would go with Greg's system before spending a dime more on a rudder system, but you already said the most important thing: It all comes down to "what I like"!

Happy paddling, Shawn