Sailing Kayak

[Ty Cassedy]

I'm interested in building a single person kayak that can be sailed as well as paddled.  Has anyone added a sail rig to a B&B kayak or have a recommendation for another design?  Appreciate comments.

 

Ty

[meester]

Hi Ty,

 

Currently, I'm enthused about the West Mersea Duck Punt (search Youtube) - not a kayak, but sort of in the same spirit.  Maybe not so good for cold, deep water like Puget Sound.  You do have to think about how to recover from a capsize, so that you can go out again.

 

For messing about with an existing kayak, you might think about Mick Storer's drop-in rig http://www.duckworksbbs.com/plans/storer/sail/index.htm

 

Of course, the Best Ever   is the B&B Expedition Kayak that Alan Stewart designed and built for a Watertribe event.  Check out the links on the B&B home page,  http://bandbyachtdesigns.com.

 

As always, there are tradeoffs to be considered.  An awful lot depends on what sort of daydreams you have when you imagine using this kayak.  Is it mostly a kayak, where you out for a paddle and set up a small sail for down wind, or is it a sailing canoe that you could paddle home in a calm?  For efficient paddling, you need a narrow beam.  For sailing stability you need a wide beam or amas.  For efficient paddling you don't want to carry a lot of extra weight.   On the other hand, a sail rig adds sails, spars, lines and blocks - extra weight. 

 

HTH,

Bob

[ricknriver]

Good thoughts. I believe Dawn Stewart, aka Sandy Bottom, sails her Diva, and has done some long hauls, and son Allan's expedition yak is really neat.   R

[Hirilonde]

One can really get hung up on semantics discussing sailing kayaks.  Do you mean a kayak that has been rigged to sail?  Or do you mean a multi-hull based on a kayak for the main hull?  Or something else?  I don't think anyone has added a sailing rig to a kayak and ended up with great sailing characteristics.  Mostly kayak sails are for well off the wind and an aid, not a primary propulsion.  What Alan designed and built seems very creative, but I don't think I would call it a kayak.  It seems to me to be a trimaran inspired by kayaks.  This isn't a criticism of his design, which I find quite clever, but merely an observation.

So I guess my question is:  What exactly are you looking for Ty?

[Ty Cassedy]

Dave,  I have just retired and am finally getting serious about building a small boat.  I originally planned to build a Spindrift 11, but would really like something a little easier to get in and out of the back of my pickup truck by myself.  Ideally whatever it is would be a good sailor with the ability to paddle (or row) when the wind dies.  I expect to sail in the bays and harbors of Puget Sound, so I do not want to go in the water.  I expect to sail alone.  Suggestions appreciated.  Thanks,  Ty

[Hirilonde]

The only design I can think of that sails as well as a Spindrift, but is easier to load and unload to/from a pick up would be a nesting Spindrift.  Mine, a 9N, fits in the back of a Ford Ranger with the tail gate closed.  The aft piece weighs about 40 pounds.  Weights and lengths for the larger Spindrifts would be a bit more.  If I were to build a Spindrift now, as a day sailor, (my 9N was built as a tender) I would probably build the original version and use a trailer. I find this the best combo of ease for launching and great for sailing.  You give up the side seats/flotation when you build a nesting version. This assumes you have some where to store a trailer.  What ever I own has to sail really well.  Spindrifts sail really well.  What ever you decide you will compromise something.  The key is to sort out your priorities and find the best fit.  I retire in less than 3 years, and I finished my retirement daysailer just over a year ago.  I appreciate your dilemma.

[Ken_Potts]

   As I look forward to my retirement (way too far forward) I don't see a sailboat I have to lift out of a truck.  I see a sailboat on a trailer (or a mooring).  I don't think I'll ever give up on kayaks, but they'll stay small and light.  For sailing I'd rather have a boat that sails well and has enough beam (or keel) to hold her up.

   For fun and frequent day-sailing, I think it's hard to beat a trailer boat that is quick to rig.  I used to have a boat that required a good deal of assembly in order to sail it and I didn't sail it nearly as much as I sailed my subsequent boats which were easy and quick to rig.

   Everybody's requirements are different, though and that's why there are so many good designs out there.

[PAR]

Look into Mik Storer's drop in sailing rig, for canoes and kayaks.

 

http://www.duckworksbbs.com/plans/storer/sail/index.htm

[Alex]

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[Paul356]

this one is pretty neat  http://ptwatercraft.com/ptwatercraft/PT11Home.html

[Action Tiger]

That rowboat/trimaran thing recently campaigned (very successfully) in the R2AK looks pretty neat. Not a kayak, but a pretty Swiss Army knife type boat, I think.

Angus? Boats. Some-such.

And, I also like Alan's canoe a whole bunch. Obviously a great boat, and proven right here before all our eyes.

Of course, you still need to be as tough and awesome as those guys to pull off stunts like them, but I'm sure the boats would also work for just farting around like what most of us would do.

Of course, if I could only have one boat, it would be a decent sized canoe, say 15-18 feet. Big enough, small enough, and you can paddle, row, or sail one decently enough to keep entertained.