
X‐SERIESUSERGUIDE
www.epickayaks.com
toloseanaverageof5%ormoreforwardpoweronyourstroke.Alltopflatwaterpaddlersandopen‐oceanracers
userudders,astheyhaveproventimeandtimeagainincompetitiontobemoreefficientthanaskegorgoing
withoutarudder.Olympicsprintracesareheldonastraightcourseincalmwaterandruddersareoptional.
However,youwouldbehard‐pressedtofindanyonepaddlingwithoutarudderinhigh‐levelcompetitions.They
knowthatthefastestwaytopaddleistoputmaximumfocusonanefficientforwardstrokeandlettherudder
ensuretheyaretravelinginastraightline.Inthesameway,engineershavefounditmuchmoreefficienttousea
rudderonanairplane,ratherthanattempttoturntheenginesfordirectionalcontrol.Concernoverdragisno
reasonnottousearudder.
Rudderusedoesnotindicatewhethersomeoneisa“good”paddler.Wefeeleveryoneshouldbecomfortable
paddlingwithandwithoutarudder.Learntoedgeyourkayakanduseyourpaddletohelpsteer.Thesetechniques
incombinationwitharuddergiveyouevenmoreprecisecontrol.Fromapersonalpreferencestandpoint,ifsome
preferpaddlingwithoutarudder,that'sfine.However,mostpeoplewillfindthatarudderhelpsthempaddle
moreeasilyandefficientlyinallconditions.
Theoldstylepush‐pullsteeringsystemspreventedtheproperuseoflegswhilepaddling.Anefficientforward
strokeinvolvespushingwiththesame‐sidelegatthecatch.Theold‐stylepedalsystemscouldcauseapaddlerto
oversteeroneachstroke.Newsteeringsystemshavepedalsthatareindependentofthefootbrace.Paddlerscan
pushwiththemainpartofthefoot,andusethetoesforsteering.Modernefficientpedalsystemsallowproperuse
oflegdriveandcontrolofarudderatthesametime.
Finally,yes,aruddercanbreak.However,awell‐designedandmaintainedruddersystemwillrarelycause
problems.Checkyourrudder,lines,andpedalsfromtimetotimetoensuretheyareingoodworkingorderand
replaceanythingthatisworn.Thisisespeciallytruebeforealongtriporimportantrace.AtEpic,wecontinueto
worktoensurenewsteeringsystemswillbeevenmorereliableandtrouble‐freeinthefuture.
Whilearudderisaconvenienceforcalm‐waterpaddling,itwilldefinitelychangeyourexperienceforthebetterin
roughorwindyconditions.Agoodpaddlertravellingindownwindwavescancutbackandforthtofindthebest
wavepositions,maximizingsurfinggains—whilethosewithoutarudderorusingaskegoftenfindthemselves
fightingasidewaysbroach.Experiencedoceanpaddlers,suchasOscarChalupsky,aremastersatthisandwillleave
arudderlesspaddlerintheirwake!
AtEpicKayaksouraimistousetechnologytogiveyouamoreefficientandenjoyablepaddlingexperience.We
challengetheoutdatedtheoryheldbymanythatbecauseearlyAleutianandGreenlandkayaksdidnothave
rudders,thereisnoplaceforthemonmodernkayaks.Earlyautomobileshadhand‐crankstartersandwooden
wheels.Yourarelyseepeopledrivingthesetoday,astechnologyadvanceshavemadedrivingacarmucheasier,
safer,andmoreaccessibleforeverybody.Likewisethereisnothingwrongwithusinganefficientruddertohelp
youenjoyyourpaddlingexperience.Mostpeoplewillfindthatarudderwillhelpthempaddlemoreeasilyand
efficientlyinallconditions.Ultimately,thechoiceofwhetherandwhentousearudderisuptoyou.
TrackMasterTMSteeringSystem
TheEpicTrackMaster™SteeringSystemisaproprietaryruddersystemandwasintroducedinconjunctionwiththe
newX‐Seriescockpitandfootboarddesigns.Itworksinasimilarfashiontoanairplanesteeringsystem.Thestern
oftheboatpivotstoredirectwaterflowalongthesternofthekayak.Allruddercomponentsandlinesareneatly
containedwithinthehull,eliminatingthehasslesandhazardsofexposedruddersystems.Toaddextratraction,a
smallfinextendsfromthebottomoftherudder,addingpositiveandreliablecontrol.TheTrackMasterTMfinis
positionedmuchfartherforwardonthehullcomparedtoanoverhangingrudder,improvingperformanceinwater
conditionsthatmayleavethesternandanoverhangingrudderhighanddryoutofthewater.Thefinisdurable,
lowprofileanddoesnotcatchweeds,andissuitableforsandybeachlaunches.