Jackson Coosa Kayak

[Gavin]

Big boat in skinny water....works pretty well. The 16' buffaloe paddles pretty well solo or tandem...

[gotmuddy]

I was extremely happy. I tried the ferrying technique but every shoal was full of rocks or trees.

[tjulianc]

You don't have to use the back ferrying technique in rapids only. I use it for when I am hung up across the river, and maybe a little down stream from my lure. It keeps your canoe/kayak still facing down stream, and gets you to your lure at the same time.

[Hef]

Could someone please explain what "tracking" means when talking about a Kayak.

[jdmidwest]

Tracking is what a boat does when you paddle it forward. Most kayaks have a small keel to them to act as a rudder to keep them running straight as you paddle them forward. Without it, a paddle stroke on the right side would result in the nose of the yak to go to the left and veer off course requiring another stroke on the other side to counter balance. With a little keel, the boat should track straight as you paddle.

[ness]

...but you don't have to have a keel to track well. A well-designed canoe OR kayak will track without a keel. Keels drag, stick and concentrate wear. Sometimes they're a sign of a poorly designed hull -- one that needs the keel for rigidity or to track.

[Hef]

Thanks.Makes sense now.

[Al Agnew]

And keep in mind that tracking ability and maneuverability are pretty much mutually exclusive properties. A boat that turns easily when you want it to also turns when you don't want it to. And a boat that stays straight when you want it to resists turning when you want to turn it. Which is why most "recreational" canoes and kayaks are compromises between the two characteristics. A whitewater craft is highly maneuverable, a flatwater craft tracks very well. On Ozark streams you seldom need a whitewater design and you don't really want a flatwater design. So your choice is whether you want a compromise craft that leans a little toward tracking ability or one that leans toward maneuverability. I've always leaned a little toward tracking ability in my canoes for a few reasons. One, a good tracking craft is also faster, moves through the water with less effort, and that's what I want to get me through long, dead pools (or get me to the take-out when I've got two miles to go and it's a half hour before dark). Two, a good tracking canoe will also be easier to slow or stop in the current (as long as you're keeping it parallel to the flow). And three, it holds the angle better when you are ferrying.

On the other hand, narrower craft have less initial stability--they feel a little tippy. I've found that is easy to get used to, because a well-designed craft might feel squirrelly but will resist rolling that little extra that makes it tip. But it means you can't stand up in it to fish. I've never seen the need to do so, anyway.

[Wayne SW/MO]

The tarpon doesn't have a keel but what I believe are called runnels. These are like an inverted keel and there are two. The scuppers come out in these and it puts them about 3/4" above the level of the bottom and protects them from catching on rocks.