Trimaran Sailing Rig

[SteveMorris]

I recently purchased a Hobie Island Adventure trimaran Kayak with a mirage drive and sail rig. I have been having an absolute blast with this thing. I would love to build my own using the Kudzu Craft technique. Has anyone attempted this? If so, based on which model? Thanks in advance for your assistance.

[machgarcia]

check CLC boats

http://www.clcboats.com/shop/boats/wooden-sailboat-kits/clc-sailrig-kayak-canoe-sailing-rig.html

[Kudzu]

I love to sail and this has always interested me. I have never looked seriously at it but the first big issue is a way to attach the alma's to the frame. Unlike a rigid boat you can't just bolt something to the hull. There could be a lot of stress on the attaching point so I think that it would need to be specially designed to take the load.

[SteveMorris]

Yes I agree and I was considering that aspect. I would have to incorporate a horizontal plywood plate (similar to the stem and stern parts in your frames) fore and aft of the cockpit for the aka's to attach to. The other think I was wondering about is how to design the ama's. My first thought was just a scaled down kayak that I would mirror the top of the boat to the bottom and skin all the way around. I would need to incorporate a corresponding mounting surface for the akas. On the main hull you would also need a verticle stern to attach a rudder to. After sailing the Hobie I am hungry for a little more performance. Also, down on South Padre Island, TX where I've been sailing we carry the parts from a parking lot to the beach through about 100 yards of deep sand. I'm huffing and puffing and in dire need of an adult beverage by the time I get the boat to the water. We have pretty consistant onshore breezes of 10 to 15 knots so it's an ideal location to sail up and down the beach. I would seriously consider modifying one of your designs to the task and would appreciate any suggestions you might have.

[Kudzu]

Really don't have anything offer. I have never done more than think it would be fun. I know a sail can have a lot pressure .... I wonder about the forces on teh frame. I would need to see one and sail it to even know where to start.

I do have a S&G/Strip hybrid that I never paddle any more. I have debating on what to do with it and you have got me thinking. Not sure if that is a good thing though.

[SteveMorris]

I think I want to try to modify the Castaway to be an ultralight beach trimaran. The reason I like the Castaway as a basis for a trimaran sailboat is the large cockpit and the added protection it offers from spray. My Hobie is a very wet ride so when fall comes it's not going to get used much. A drier boat would get year round use. At 62 lbs the Hobie is also a hoss to get in and out of my truck by myself. My Girlfriend could load that castaway by herself. I think a laminated akas could be attached to the boat at locations in the frame similar to what you did with for rod holders aft of the cockpit. I could design the forward aka with an integral mast step that mounts both to a flat surface at the front of the cockpit and to the keel or possibly to the floor of the cockpit (I don't know if it has one or not). What would be involved in lengthening the Castaway to make capable of seating two people?

[machgarcia]

two options

http://feathercraft.com/sail-rigs/wind-seeker/

http://www.sailboatstogo.com/catalog/KAYAK_RIG

[Kudzu]

Again, I Just don't have good answers without some research. Cast away might be a good choice because the frame is a little stiffer but I still questing if it is stiff enough once the wind starts to pick up. I just don't know.

What would be involved in lengthening the Castaway to make capable of seating two people?

Your talking a new boat design.

[SteveMorris]

Thanks for the suggestions on sail rigs. I think I'm going to opt to use the hobie furling mast and sail. It's really easy to use if I can adapt the step to hull. I think I've just about figured that out too.

[Kudzu]

Just wanted to say you have peaked my interest in sailing kayaks. Actually have been interested just working on other things. I am reading everything I can find to better educate myself and I must say this is very interesting. I have a plywood boat that I don't use anymore, been debating on what to do with it. I think it may be the Guinea Pig to learn about sailing kayak and their rigs.

OH, and I would recomend the Mess About instead of Cast Away if you are going to do this. It doesn't have the well for the milk crate and you don't need that on a sailing boat.

[SteveMorris]

Thanks Jeff. There's a book on Amazon called Building Outrigger Sailing Canoes that describes how to build and sail a couple of different sail rigs inexpensively. But I'm thinking about adapting your boat to the Hobie Sail rig. I found this place that sells the sail parts separately. http://www.mariner-sails.com/department.asp?id=8769 I've sailed Hobie Cat catamarans and Wind Surfers and I have to say that the Island Adventure with Hobie's roller furling main sail it's easier to sail than either one of those. There's a ton of U-tube video of thiese boats in action. The mast step is a plastic cup with a stainless pin in the bottom for the mast to spin around on when you are reefing, furling or unfurling. There's a ball bearing attached to the center section of the AKA's that the mast passes through at deck level on it's way down to the pin at keel level in the cup. I think I can work out a method to mate that cup and bearing to a frame and also incorportate a mating surface to the forward AKA so that much of the side to side force of the sail is carried on the AKA. That frame may require some additional bracing to cope with the lever forces the wind puts on the mast. It's going to be fun trying to work it out. The idea of building a sailboat that I can lift over my head with one hand really intrigues me. Thanks for the quick turn around on the boat plans and fabric. I forgot to order the artificial sinew so look for that order today.

[Kudzu]

By all means post photos as you build! I want to see what you come up with. I learn new stuff all the time this way.

jeff

[Hirilonde]

I'm still trying to figure out just what the motivation of this thread is.

Are you looking to add a sailing rig to a kayak while still having a kayak that is good for paddling? Would it be a rig and amas or 2 that can be removed to leave the kayak intact for it's original planned use?

or

Are you looking to build a multi hull sailboat? If so, why does it have to begin with a kayak? There are lots of other light weight construction techniques beside SoF that are much more adaptable to the structural needs of a multi-hull.

[SteveMorris]

I'm looking for extreme light weight and ease of construction. That's why I gravitated to the SOF technique. I am also planning on building a strip planked proa design but I won't be dragging that around in the bed of my pickup and through parking lots to the beach. I'm all ears for something that I can easily manage in and out of a pickup bed by myself and drag through 100 yards or so of soft sand. I do that now with the Hobie but it's not very fun. I have a pickup bed extender so length is not too much of a problem.

[woodman]

Here is one ....trimaran hybrid http://www.southernp....php?f=3&t=8686

[machgarcia]

found this

http://robroy.dyndns.info/baidarka/slideshow/node-i45.html#TEXT

[Kudzu]

It's a shame there is nothing showing if it was every finished and how it sailed. I have heard rumors of this one before but that is the first photos I have seem. Wondering where the rudder is and if they use a lee board or what?

[Hirilonde]

I always wonder about boats like that. By "like that" I mean amateur designs built one off. Just because some one did it doesn't mean it is worth duplicating. There are so many good designs out there done by people who really know what they are doing that I can't see experiments with little to no proof it is worth being part of. This is also why I asked earlier what the real goal of building a trimaran was. Limiting yourself to a fuselage hull boat, when maybe that is not the best choice for a multihull sailboat seems a shame to me. Just because fuselage hulls make great kayaks doesn't mean they are a good choice for a sailboat. I know that for my part I have limited time and financial resources and far more boats I would like to build than I will ever be able to. I want to know that I am building something I really want, and that the design is worth my limited resources and efforts.