P&H Cetus skeg system

The P&H Cetus is a superb sea kayak and I am very fortunate to have one on loan for a long term test (and I guess P&H might be hoping for a few photos of it in the magazines (watch out for it in Ocean Paddler #17)!

So far I have only paddled it in flat water conditions, so a full test will need to wait until later. One problem, that did mar its otherwise excellent performance, was ease of skeg adjustment. This was a brand new boat but, straight out the wrapper, the skeg adjuster was so stiff that my daughter could not use it. I managed to move it but it very nearly broke my thumb. It was almost impossible to raise the skeg from the fully down position, when the slider is right at the back of the adjustment slot. I know that this is not an isolated case as a quick Google search will confirm several other reports, also here, here and here.

P&H have developed an all new skeg adjustment system for their most recent kayaks. Previously P&H, like many manufacturers, used a wire cable to positively move the skeg both down and up. These work great but if a stone jams the skeg up and you force the cable down, it bends and kinks where it is exposed, either at the adjuster or above the skeg. P&H have attempted to circumvent this weakness of cable skegs by developing the old elastic/rope idea.

Basically the new system works with a piece of shock cord pulling the skeg down against a thin cord pulling it up. The cord is attached to a slider with a ratchet to stop it being pulled back down. To lower the skeg, you first press forward the ratchet release with your thumb and then allow the slider and the skeg to move back and down.


I told Tim at P&H about it and he said that they were aware of the problem and had just released an upgrade kit with a replacement thinner cord to reduce friction.


The detailed instructions looked pretty easy.


Basically cut the old cord at the slider then pull the skeg out of the box. Next tie the new thin cord onto the skeg in place of the old one then thread the cord up the outer skeg adjuster cable . This proved to be very difficult as the line is relatively flexible and the hole is at the top of the skeg box. I solved this problem by threading the line through an empty Biro pen casing, as a guide. I then removed the guide before I tied the line to the skeg.


Next you thread the line through the hole in the slider, pass it through the small plastic washer supplied in the kit and tie a knot in the line. Was this a cure? Well no, it might have been a little easier at the front of the track (left in the photo)...


...but when the slider is at the back of the track, the hole in the slider does not line up with the hole the cord emerges from and there is a lot of friction. I got back to Tim and was very pleased that the P&H development team had not only already discovered this too but had even developed a workaround: the white plastic widget. As you can see prevents the slider moving right to the back of the track. Tim sent one up the next day.


He also told me that recent production boats had been modified by adding a short vertical bar to stop the slider moving right back.

So was this a cure, resulting in a silky smooth action? Unfortunately not, my daughter was still not strong enough to move it despite a liberal application of silicone spray, as recommended in the instruction sheet.


As supplied, this Cetus came with a piece of 4mm shock cord 50cm long (shown in red). With the slider fully back (again as supplied) the skeg was pulled down by the elastic to about 80 degrees to the keel. This resulted in a huge tension in the shock cord and the attachment point of the blue uphaul cord on the skeg did not give enough leverage to overcome it. I replaced the shock cord with a piece 75cm long.


Next I tied the knot at the slider end of the blue cord a bit short, so that the skeg only came down to about 45 degrees to the keel. (The P&H upgrade kit instructions recommends this angle.) These two changes have resulted in much less tension in the shock cord when the skeg is down as far as it is allowed.

Simon Willis made a video with Doug Cooper describing the operation of the new skeg system for the P&H website. Tellingly, Doug starts off by saying "There's a definite knack to using it though".

There is a another video which shows the assembly and operation of the skeg system here.


So has this cured the problem? Well it is much better but I noticed that there seemed to be a lot of friction on the axle, about which the skeg rotates. If you look at the photo above, you will see a red plastic nut on either side of the skeg. These nuts screw into one another and as supplied they gripped the skeg quite tightly. I unscrewed half a turn and this loosened the skeg off and also resulted in the outer faces of the red nuts being a tighter fit in the skeg slot (previously there was a tendency for the axle end of the skeg to fall out of the slot).

Now I have a system that works well for me, but my daughter says it still hurts her thumb, especially when trying to move it forward from the fully down position. I am also concerned about how any sand might add friction to skeg rotation.


Taking my daughter's complaint seriously, I now dismantled the system again and checked everywhere for friction. I noticed that the slider is a very tight fit in its V channel and there was considerable scoring on both the upper and lower channel faces (remember this is a boat that has only seen 4 days use). I noticed that if you pushed the slider near its mid line (where the steel rod runs through )that it is easier to move than if you push it off centre where the ratchet release is. Again I contacted Tim and he told me that they were also aware of this and had now developed a new low friction slider but unfortunately it would not be possible to retrofit it to existing boats.
Tim told me that they were aware that the overall problem was caused in some kayaks by lots of little bits of friction, at different points in the system, adding up. He also told me that P&H were committed to getting the design right and I have every confidence that they will.
What are my conclusions? Well first of all P&H are to be congratulated on trying to develop a better system than the existing wire skeg control which can be nearly impossible to repair in the field. Secondly, they are to be congratulated on speedily working to develop solutions to problems that have developed in their new design. However, the skeg on my Quest still works much more smoothly than my now finely tuned Cetus skeg, which I have spent two days adjusting. This is more time than I have spent maintaining a Quest cable skeg over 7 seasons and a Quest LV cable skeg over three seasons. I am certainly not going to let this put me off the Cetus, which in 4 days paddling has so far proved to be an outstanding performer and I can't wait to get out in her again.


However, even with its skeg in a finely tuned state, well rinsed and then sprayed with silicone, my daughter says she would prefer to paddle her own boat. So it looks like for now, P&H will need to put up with photos of her in the Quest LV rather than the Cetus.

A lone kayaker was dwarfed by the scale of the landscape.

Sunday, the first of March, dawned with the summits of the distant hills of Ardgour to the west catching the rays...


...of a sun still hidden below the icy mass of the Mamores to the east.


We were soon paddling round the islands of Loch Leven below the shapely curves of Sgorr na Ciche.


From the islands we made our way down to the tidal narrows of Ballachulish and practiced ferry gliding in the current.


We stopped for lunch in Alison's Bay. At sea level the flowering gorse bushes were full of spring promise but on the summits the slopes were still in the grip of winter.


A lone kayaker was dwarfed by the scale of the landscape.


This was a gentle day of only 11km but what scenery!

This was the Scottish Canoe Association luxury weekend. It was organised by Lena Michie. Thank you Lena! :o)

01/03/2009

Return ticket from Eilean Munde.

Leaving the graves on Eilean Munde, we made our way down slippery rocks...


...and seaweed to the shore and our waiting kayaks.


A reverse seal launch over wet wrack proved an effective way of regaining the waters of Loch Leven.


Soon we were back at our waterside hotel in time for a swim and a sauna before dinner.


From Port Appin to Ballachulish we had covered 29km, not too bad for a winter warm up on a short day!

28/09/2009

A decent burial, in Glen Coe

We landed on Eilean Munde, Glen Coe's Isle of the Dead, under leaden grey skies.


There are graves of Stewarts, McInnesses, MacDonalds and Camerons. Even when the clans were in conflict, Eilean Munde was seen as neutral territory and the island is where warring clansmen were laid beside each other in death.

It is said that McIain, chief of the Glen Coe MacDonalds was buried here after the infamous massacre in 1692. It was planned as a premeditated murder of an entire clan by Campbell of Glen Lyon, who was on the Government side. At the time, the clans had been warring for hundreds of years and the MacDonalds were no saints, having just three years before, laid waste to the crofts and stolen the cattle from Glen Lyon on their way back from the Battle of Killiecrankie. The Massacre of Glen Coe attracted widespread loathing and condemnation throughout Scotland because Campbell of Glen Lyon and 128 of his men had being staying in Glen Coe as guests of MacIain for the previous 11 nights.

About 400 people lived in the Glen at that time. 38 men, including MacIain, were murdered and a further 40 women and children later died during a blizzard on the hills as they attempted to escape. However, over three quarters of the clan escaped, some to friends in Campbell lands in Etive. Some of the Campbell solders were so disgusted at this planned "murder in trust" that they forewarned their hosts. Two were lieutenants, Francis Farquhar and Gilbert Kennedy. They were arrested and imprisoned for disobeying orders.


At the crest of the island there is a ruined chapel. Its predecessor was built built in wood by St. Fintan Mundus, who came here from Iona in the 7th Century.


It was was burnt down in 1495 and the present stone structure dates from the 16th century. The last service took place in 1653.


Many of the monuments and gravestones are carved from local Ballachulish slate, like this magnificent Celtic cross.


One Stewart, James of the Glen, was not fortunate enough to be buried in this peaceful spot. Colin Campbell of Glenure was the Government Factor and he took it upon himself to evict Stewarts from their crofts and install Campbells in their place. In 1753 Campbell and his henchmen crossed into Appin by the Ballachulish ferry. They were on their way to evict more Stewarts, when he was shot in the back by an unseen marksman. The "Appin Murder" so outraged the Campbells that they took James of the Glen, the first Stewart that they found, to Inverary Castle. Here their Chief, the Duke of Argyll, sat with 11 Campbell jurors and sentenced James to death, despite having not a shred of evidence. James was hanged at South Ballachulish and his body was left chained to the gibbet until it fell to pieces.

Much as we had enjoyed our visit to this interesting place, we counted ourselves lucky to have a save passage home from Eilean Munde.

P.S. If you are a Campbell, and you are thirsty or need a bed for the night in Glen Coe, it's probably best to adopt a pseudonym, such as Smith. The Clachaig Inn, at the mouth of the Glen, still displays a sign "No hawkers or Campbells". For a neutral account of this emotive part of Scottish history see "Glencoe and the End of the Highland War" by Paul Hopkins.

28/02/2009

Eilean Munde, an isle in a Stygian situation.

Once through the narrows, we found ourselves in Loch Leven (Loch Leamhain or Loch of the elms).


As we paddled on we approached little Eilean Munde which nestled in a corner of the loch under the Stygian heights and recesses of Glen Coe.


Eilean Munde is named after St Fintan Mundus who founded an abbey here in the seventh century.


The island is also known as Eilean Nam Mairbh (Isle of the Dead). It has been used as a burial ground for centuries, the dead are carried over in a small boat.


As we approached, all was quiet and peaceful and even the wind died away.

28/02/2009

Beauty and the beast at Ballachulish

We paddled towards the tidal narrows at Ballachulish which separate Loch Linnhe from Loch Leven to the east.


The narrows are now crossed by the Ballachulish Bridge which has been described as the most brutal bridge design in Scotland. Over the years I have grown to quite like it, here its girders contrast with the beauty of Sgurr na Ciche.


The bridge was completed at the end of 1975 but, before that, a vehicle ferry ran across the narrows from 1903. These were flat bottomed turntable ferries and used the slipways in the shallow water at either side of the narrows. One of the last of these ferries was the Glenachulish. She was built in 1969 at the Ailsa yard at Troon on the Firth of Clyde. She served the Ballachulish crossing until the bridge opened, then she was moved to Kessock and then Kylsku to serve as the relief ferry until those crossings were replaced by bridges in 1982 and 1984. After this she moved to Glenelg for the Skye crossing where she still serves today. The crossing at the peak of a spring tide always provided an entertaining ferry glide.

Not all crossings were entertaining. In 2003, Maureen Macmillan MSP recounted the following in a debate on the Scottish Railways and Transport Safety Bill: "The bill reminds me of an incident from my past involving the Ballachulish ferry on New Year's Day, a bottle of Chivas Regal drunk on the north side and a ferry that could not dock on the south side. The ferry went up Loch Leven and anchored and there was a stand-off with the police. Later, the Oban Times reported that someone had been charged with being drunk in charge of a ferry. The experience was frightening for everyone on board. "


I took this photo at Easter 1975, just as the last section was being lowered into place. You can just see the Glenachulish leaving South Ballachulish. She took 6 cars on her turntable which allowed a fast roll on roll off service. At peak periods two ferries served the crossing and the rule of thumb was, if there were more than 36 cars in front of you in the queue, it would be faster, but less fun to drive the 31km (19 miles) round the twisting, narrow road to Kinlochleven at the head of the loch and back down the other side.

Most of my generation, who spent time waiting for the ferry, appreciate the hidden beauty of this brutal bridge.

29/02/2009

An alluring view of a pointed breast and a thunderbolt!

After a brief stop at Rubh a Bhaid Beithe (point of the alluring beechwood), our course turned due east.


We now caught sight of Sgorr na Ciche ,the mountain which guards the west entrance of Glen Coe.


Sgorr na Ciche is Gaelic for "pointed peak of the breast". The Gaels are a poetic lot but they have a point.


To our south the ridges of Beinn a Bheithir (hill of the thunderbolt) rose into the clouds.

28/02/2009