Sailrig action

just a quick video of my recently finished though constantly evolving clc sailrig in action in a stiff breeze.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Qgzzd3VUdM


4 replies:

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RE: Sailrig action

Looks awesome. How do the ama keels affect tracking? I'm thinking of doing something similar when I build my rig, as the only places I'm looking at sailing involve all of 2 tacks, so I'm more concerned with pointing than ease of tacks.

 What rudder were you using? What are you looking at doing for your next rudder? Have you considered a dual rudder system on the amas, which might leave your kayak unmolested?

Thanks for sharing the fruits of your labor. :) 

-- James

RE: Sailrig action

It has to be a fine line to walk. On one hand, John has to be proud of all the experimentation that goes on with his designs, and how flexible they are and can really be tweaked just a little to become closer to perfect for any one persons specific needs and desires. On the other hand, it has to be maddening to watch people change a design you put so much time and effort into.

Either way,  I'm really interested in the process people take to start with a great all around design and taylor it to their specific needs. :)

 

-- James

RE: Sailrig action

Thanks. I'm pretty happy with the keels performance considering their size, they would be better if they were deeper but then the ama draft would exceed that of the vaka. I'm getting decent upwind performance on my LT17 but the tandem needed a leeboard (the LT17 tracks much better with its hard chines plus its narrower and shorter). Tacking is pretty slow but possible on the 17 however the tandem tacks really well... that big bow catches the wind and swings the boat around once I turn through the wind. The rudder is a stock Wilderness Systems tandem rig with some extra aluminum sheet bolted on to increase surface area. The problem I had was the blade flexing which led to its demise... it snapped clean off at the top where it comes out of the housing. I migt just try to build a replacement blade out of carbon for starters, mabye I can get that stiff enough... I'll see what comes to me.

As for the mods, I hope I'm not pissing anyone off! I figure this comes with the territory when you sell plans... and frankly the stock setup was unacceptable for my intents and purposes (lond distance cruising and dual boat use). Really the only changes were streching the hulls a foot and increasing the aka spacing from 48" to 63" to allow for a natural paddle stroke. The keels were just an experimental addition and the windsurf rig was a free and readily available sail. The tandem requires the aluminum mounting bracket (still a prototype) to allow hatch access while keeping the aka in an acceptable location, the 17 has the standard wooden spacer. Oh and the rig is bolted on because I didn't want eyebolts sticking out of my rails.

I'd love to hear John's input, good or bad!

 

-Patrick

RE: Sailrig action

What was the wind speed in that video?  Looks like you were having some fun.  How is the setup with the keels?  It looks like they reach deeper than the bottom of the kayak.  It seems like you are still experimenting with the rudder.  I went through a very hard 6 months trying different things.  The one piece of advice that I want to try is to build a balanced rudder so the pressure on the rudder mount isn't so much.  

 Can you post some photos on your bolt mounting system, I too didn't like the idea of eyebolts sticking out from my deck so I went with bolts too.   

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