: I also agree with you that
: a skeg is a bit of a pain to build

An all fiberglass skeg and skeg box is a snap to build. If the deck is off of the kayak, it's even easier. You just make a mold out of 3/4" or 1/2" boards with a 3/4" wooden dowel ontop, cover the mold with masking tape, cut the hole in the kayak, slot the mold into the hole, cover the mold with a layer of 5 or 6 ounce glass, a couple layers of epoxy mat, then a couple layers of 5 or 6 ounce E-glass. Cover this with peel-ply, wrap the whole deal with electrical tape while keeping everything smooth. Then work on a 3/4" hole/dowel in the deck to mate with the other one. After it's set up, drill a hole, run a bolt through, glass and dookie over the nut and bolt. A half a days work for a great skeg box.

The skeg will be bungee/rope over the rear deck to a jam cleat.

Wetting out the glass on a flat surface before applying it to the boat works best.