I was wondering if anybody has any experiance with one of these sails? They look interesting,I was thinking of buying one for my Kruger Dreamcatcher.
http://www.vision.net.au/~jennings/sail/sail.html
Hmmm…
They look like escape boats from Cuba. Kruger is best fitted with a sail rig from Balogh Sail Design. If you want to see a few examples, join the yahoo group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sailing_canoes/ The photo section has many nice rigs.
True
The Balogh rigs are very nice but they are very expensive also.I thought these looked like fun and they are less than 300.00
More reading for you
http://topkayaker.net/Articles/SurfSail/KayakSailing.html
If you just want to have fun and don’t want to spend a lot of money, take a look at Pacific Action Sail. Watch the video sidebar. http://www.pacificaction.co.nz/
Pa
The PA sail is on my list of things to get for this boat.
Mike
PA sail “seconded”!
I’ve played with a lot of kayak and canoe sails in my short time, and the best (easily manageable, good performance) would go to the PA sail for paddle-sailing in combination.
My reccommendation would be to just go for the 2.2 sq meter PA sail, I seriously regret not getting the bigger sail from them.
Quebra
I got the bigger one
And it can be a scary ride sometimes. But it sure is fun.
photo’s here…
http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/549410980UxKxcV
Andy
not to hijack the thread, but…
That’s strange, I swear your sail in the pics doesn’t look much larger than my 1.5 sq meter.
I’m in the process of building a new one from PVC tubing with 8’ long masts (my current PA sail masts are 7’ in length).
Having played around with sails a bit, I’m still a bit confounded on how the sail doesn’t make the boat heel more? Surprisingly, I have found little heeling effect from the sail even with the wind on beam (which is why I regret not going with the bigger sail).
I found the PA sail sheeting system to be the dregs, I went with a modified version splitting the sheet, and using two anchored cleats. Very easy one-handed adjustment while underway.
Quebra
Heel over
It sure does, my boat is 21.5" wide and it will heel over. My paddle prevents it from doing so. In a good brisk wind, it’s not a relaxing ride. Constant corrections are needed.
The sail I have was the largest avaialble at the time from PA. That may have changed.
Andy
Leeboard is the key
Without it, the boat will be going forward and sideways with little or no heeling.
Hmm, I wonder if it could be my boat?
Interesting factoid on kayak size and sail performance Andy…
My boat is a TSUNAMI 135, 22.75" wide (a little wider), and HARD chined (gives it nice initial stability, but trades off on some maneuverability, and a slow roller at best).
I definitely use my paddle to rudder with in a good wind, but I’ve never had to brace. I think the PA folks have had the largest 2.2 sq meter sail for a while, it’s likely just the photo perspective that makes it look smaller.
I have used various leeboards on my other sailing rigs. As soon as I start down that path it always seems to interfere with my ability to paddle the kayak. I will agree that point of sail could be improved on with a leeboard, but it makes things more complicated in terms of rigging, and I tend to loose the ability to paddle sail unencumbered. I kind of use my submerged paddle like a leeboard in some ways as well when the wind is on beam.
Perhaps the 1.5sq meter is the optimal size after all? I guess I’ll find out when I get the larger one built this week.
Quebra
My boat is 18’3"
Gets squirrley with the sail on.
DIY sail
not satisfied with commercial offerings I set to design my own.
So far I have fitted 8 sails on my and other paddlers’s kayaks.
Just returned from a week long trip where I sailed at times in 20 knots wind.
For a detailed description :http://www.qldseakayak.canoe.org.au/site/canoeing/qldseakayak/downloads/SEA%20KAYAK%20SAIL.pdf
Form images of the sails in action : http://www.flickr.com/photos/gnarlydog