VIDEO: sea kayak sailing

true: kayaking is not kayaking
if not only by propelled by paddle alone if a score is kept.

If one paddles for fun (as I do) kayak sailing ads so much fun, really.

I don’t have a GPS, I don’t keep a log and I don’t boast my “achievements” to a virtual crowd that might care (or not) about my goals.

If one however is driven to get the record of a particular journey/crossing/feat then the aid of a sail might not be totally kosher if fame is to be claimed :slight_smile:

Of course, to each their own.

Unless one has tried kayak sailing it is hard to understand what fun can it really be.

skeg and sailing
I presume that you ask how much skeg is used while sailing?

It depends.

On a well balanced kayak (with sail set up) I use the same amount as I would without a sail. On a beam wind I have about half skeg (depending on model of sea kayak) and usually full skeg when sailing down wind.

On kayaks that lee cock I use little to no skeg on beam wind, on kayaks that weather cock I use skeg.

Edging and weight transfer also aid to direction of kayak across wind.

There are many ways to…
kayak and sailing is certainly one of them. Canoeists have been sailing for years and its becoming more popular with the decked boat enthusiasts now.



I went out again today to play in the afternoon wind. Sunny skies, 55F, water at 43F and 20 mph fun breeze.



Used a GP today instead of the Werner and quite liked it. Less fiddly in the wind and easier to rudder with.



I’ve rigged my WindPaddle with a combing harness and separate sheets so I’m not stuck holding a looped sheet in my hands.



All the while today I was pondering the Flat Earth CZ70 with its advantages and versatility. Think I might just order one and give it a whirl. I’ll keep the WindPaddle for friends who want to try their hand at ridin’ the wind.



I’ve got a WS Zephyr 155 (RM) that I’ve already modified quite a bit so what’s a few more holes here and there!

Cool!
I always thought a rudder was pretty much a prerequisite for kayak sailing. I’m not a rudder guy. Gives me hope that the sail thing might be something I could get into. Many thanks.

Might
Look into a Falcon Sail. http://falconsails.com/



Made in the USA.



Best Wishes

Roy

Flat Earth 0.7
I just recently added a 0.7m² sail to my collection and found it as fast as the larger ones in a stiff breeze. Where once I used to think bigger is better a kayak speed is dictated by its hull speed (maximum speed achievable on that particular hull design) and a larger sail will not make it go faster. Of course in lighter breezes that is not the case, as long as kayak speed is below hull speed.

A 07m² also suits shorter kayaks since the smaller sail will not intrude over the cockpit area.

Setting up the sail properly is however the key to successful sailing. My initial sloppy work resulted in frustration…

Nice!
Thanks for posting.

Been looking forward to giving this a try!

That looks like too much fun
Very impressive boating, and there was lots of smiling going on. That sailing rig looks like a nice design, being not too cumbersome and pretty versatile.

homemade rig
Thanks for the vid gnarlydog!



I made a sailing rig this fall with the help of the DIY instructions on your website. I used an old ski pole for the mast and boom, sewed up a sail with some scrap nylon, and bought a Ronstan tiller extension joint for the mast base. I’m having fun with it, but the tiller joint is just not cutting it, too floppy. Which brand is used in the flat earth rig?

mast base joint
I use Riley tiller extension as I found the Ronstan a bit too flexible. Not sure if the Riley is available internationally as it is an Australian product: https://www.whitworths.com.au/main_itemdetail.asp?item=87977&search123=tiller+extension&intAbsolutePage=1



However the latest mast design from Mick at Flat Earth is way better than having all the pressure on the rubbery joint. I have retrofitted all my sails with this new style documented here: http://gnarlydognews.blogspot.com.au/2012/07/gear-sea-kayak-sailupdate.html

simplicity is key
I find Flat Earth sails the simplest and yet still extremely efficient sails for sea kayaking.

I have seen rigs that might sail better but the set up is no longer something that I regard safe in a sea kayak.

Adding ropes on deck ads to the risk in case of capsize: I like to keep those the the minimum. Adding dagger board just seems too complicate the rigging before launch and in reality I still want my kayak to fell like one, not transform into a small dingy.

Very, very cool.
But I dare say, upwind sailing back the way you came was completely out of the question(Especially without a rudder.) My own kayak sailing adventures have revealed this fact time and again: One will always paddle upwind much quicker than one can tack any kayak;-)



Great vid!


upwind sailing
my experience with rudder kayaks and skeg ones is that realistically I can make very little progress tacking against the wind.

A sea kayak lacks a keel that a proper sailing boat might have (at least a dagger board) and I notice that while the kayak might be pointing at 45 degrees into the wind and travelling at a decent pace the drift usually negates most of the ground that I could gain going against the wind by tacking.

If my destination is directly into the wind (or 20 degrees off it) I don’t deploy the sail but paddle into it instead. Often sailing is aided by my paddling anyway as it alleviates drift and ads to speed. In quartering winds (coming from behind/side) I don’t have to paddle at all if there is enough wind to be able to surf from wave to wave. There will be a rare outing where the conditions will be perfect (I tend to have tidal flows to deal with) where I can just sail alone unless I don’t care of destination and I am just happy to go out and back just for the fun of sailing.

Kayak Sailing
If you are afraid to kayak sail because there will be a asterisk next to your resume item, for your macho kayaking achievement, you should consider swimming your next adventure. :slight_smile:



You can go further and faster with a sail. Us kayak sailors usually go further and faster than our paddle only kayaking friends. Its not to prove anything. It is because we are having a blast. Even though we are faster we are almost always the last ones off the water. We just do not want the day to end.



Really kayak sailing is a skill that is above and beyond kayaking. It requires sailing knowledge, more advanced decision making skills, paddling skills way beyond what is necessary for normal paddling.



A beginner paddler can kayak sail, but it requires reducing the conditions they are willing to go out in. Eventually kayak sailors are so drawn to windy days, that their paddling skills grow way beyond where they where before they paddle sail.



Here is s video of a sail some friends and I did last week end.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysVTtX4H8B0



It is not smartly edited like ND’s is and it is not tropical either. In any case, we had absolute blast.

One girl in our group went for her very first paddle sail. I knew she was a very good paddler so I let here use one of my boats and rigs.


using a skeg
I am happy to sail without a rudder as well.



I adjust my skeg quite a bit when I am paddling.



If I my boat is balanced and staying on course, I leave the skeg where it is.



If my boat is turning into the wind, I put the skeg down a bit. If my boat is turning down wind on me, I put the skeg up.



So I put the skeg up when I want to go more up wind than the boat wants to go, and down when I want to go more down wind than the boat wants to go.



If am am happy with my course, and decide to turn down wind, I might put the skeg down a little to encourage the boat down wind and vise versa for a change of course up wind.

mast universal joint
As the designer of Falcon Kayak Sails, I have looked extensive at every universal joint I could find.



I was not happy with any of them for various reasons. My biggest concern was some just pop off when put under stress.



A tiller extension joint is designed to be a tiller extension joint, not a mast universal joint. Any that stay on well, are a pain to put on or take off at the launch site and have easy to loose clevis pins and cotter pins. I think they are a little ugly.



We have engineered and produced a purpose made universal joint that is designed specifically for compact sail rigs.

You can see pictures of what we did here.

http://www.falconsails.com/WhyBuyAFalconSail.php#universal



It is solid as a rock, simplistic, easy to install, and looks great.

There is nothing else available on the market even close to our patent pending design.

paddle sailing up wind
I have been sailing my entire life.



Even with a boat purpose designed to sail, some times going dead up wind is just more work than it is worth & it is time to start the engine.



If you enjoy sailing paddle sailing and working your way up wind is a lot of fun. Generally if my destination is straight up wind, and I am out on a typical paddle, I put the sail down.



The more you practice going up wind, the better you will be able to do it.



When everything is just right, I gain useful propulsion to within 30 degrees of straight up wind.



If conditions are good, I can take a beginner paddle sailor and have them make no paddling up wind progress.



It is a subject a little deep for one posting on a discussion board. I wrote a bit about it on falconsails.com on this page.

http://www.falconsails.com/KayakSailingFAQ.php#direction


maybe not
quote: “Really kayak sailing is a skill that is above and beyond kayaking. It requires sailing knowledge, more advanced decision making skills, paddling skills way beyond what is necessary for normal paddling.”



My findings are different.

Most sea kayakers when they try to use Flat Earth sails are thrilled right from the start and get they head around things within one hour. Very few that borrowed my Flat Earth fitted kayaks had prior sailing experience. A few quick instructions on the beach before launching and they usually are sailing straight away.

While this is a private video (was not intended for publication) here is an example of last week sailing of a person that has been sea kayaking for a short time and tried Flat Earth sails for the very first time: http://youtu.be/F8KFNFyaNUg

again, I beg to differ
while the tiller extension on its own might not be the very best mast base (in concept it is very similar to a windsurfing mast base) when used inside the mast and not stressed to vertical loads it is a brilliant inexpensive solution (refer to my blog article).

The Riley tiller extension takes a whole 3 seconds (not an exaggeration) to fit or remove.

But I am sure some other tiller extensions are not as good and some take much longer to fit. I tried the two Ronstan ones, (the rubber and the stainless steel ones) and found them not as good.

it
certainly looks like you were having fun