: Unless you are racing or going over rapids, where you must make sharp turns
: in a time dictated by the speed of the water, don't worry about adding
: rocker.

I built a 19 foot kayak with zero rocker and it tracks great but it is a pain to turn. No technique in the world will be able to help with this. So concerns about rocker are justified. My main priortiy for the next boat is to give it some rocker and be more like a sea kayak.

: course corrections. When you lower a skeg you may help the boat go
: straighter, but you've added more drag.

A boat with zero rocker also has more drag than a more rounded hull so I don't think the drag added by a skeg is more than with zero rocker hulls. Rudders are worse because of their angle.

So frankly I agree with Kudzu about adding a skeg. I also agree with you that a skeg is a bit of a pain to build and will seriously impact the usability of little storage space that you have.

Henk