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Kayaks are so easily driven that the urge to equip them for sailing must be as old as kayaks themselves. The original CLC SailRig™, from 1995, has been built in vast numbers. There hasn't been a SailRig™ kit for years. When we noticed recently that it is the second best selling plan set (after the Chesapeake 17™), we decided to study how to make the kit easy and affordable to build.
The SailRig™ MK2 matches the effortless performance of the original, but features simplified construction and easier kayak attachment. The SailRig™ MK2 is adaptable to almost every kayak and canoe in our catalogue, and many other production kayaks as well. Mounted on a single kayak, the acceleration is neck-snapping, with good handling upwind and down and 9-knot potential. Ten-foot beam gives you monolithic stability (and thus sail carrying power with no hiking out), but the whole rig can be dismantled for cartopping in a half-hour. The SailRig™ MK2 components weigh only about 30lbs total.
While the CLC SailRig™-equipped kayak is a proper sailboat by any measure, the beauty of the design is that you get your kayak back when you're done sailing. With the SailRig™ removed, all that's left are four eyebolts and an easily hidden mast step: no bulky reinforcements or heavy gear. No worries if the wind dies, because the aka (crossbeam) spacing permits a paddling stroke with the SailRig™ in place.
Fast sailing kayak-trimarans open up all sorts of adventure possibilities. The compact kayak and rig can be cartopped to some far-flung archipelago, assembled on the beach, loaded with gear, and sailed 40+ miles in eight hours. If the wind dies, you paddle. In good weather, long crossings can be contemplated, and a theoretical voyage might carry you 250 miles or more in six days. "The CLC rig will convert kit or commercial kayaks to sail and will reward home builders with a project that is both eye-catching and fun to sail." read entire review - Sea Kayaker, April 2005
"The amas are perfect. Pretty, fast, no bad habits at all. 25 kts of wind and beam reaching, they never dove even for a second, and if I sailed into a wave they popped up easily." - Kevin O’Neill, WaterTribe Cruising Challenge.
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