Re: Double Ender

Posted by CLC on Oct 17, 2005

I'd say, just build a Chesapeake 17 with two bows. The deeper, fuller Chesapeake 17 is better for the sorts of speeds it might attain under sail, rigged as a proa.

As a kayak, such a hull will be dodgy to paddle when the wind is up. Lots of "sail area" in the wrong places. A temporary skeg would alleviate this somewhat.

But wouldn't you be sailing when the wind was up, anyway?

In calm conditions almost anything that's light and narrow can be made to paddle proficiently.

Parenthetically, I DID design a follow-on to Mbuli which is something like you describe, though not meant to convert to a kayak. It has a much lighter, lower vaka and was meant to function more like an outrigger canoe, auxiliary power coming from a single-bladed paddle. The rig was much simpler and very efficient, basically a dipping lugsail.

In Response to: Re: Double Ender by Brian P on Oct 17, 2005

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