Nope to both. That's a rudder in the back. Makes it easy to paddle without having to compensate on steering. As far as gators,,,,,There are a few(very few) around the banks,,but thats not where I fish. My biggest spec here was 6lbs. If you hook up to a big fish,,,,Redfish, Drum,Jacks....be prepared for a sleigh ride. One Jack pulled me around for over an hour,,needless to say my arms were hurting.
Sharks are a different story. Never leave a fish stringer hanging over in the water. I've known people that did and almost got knocked into the water. All they had was fish heads afterwards. We have a lot of Bull sharks in the lake...