kayaksailor.com rig on a clc boat?

Hi,

I've been looking at sailing options for kayaks, and found http://www.kayaksailor.com which seems interesting, even if I have some questions about how stable it would be with no outriggers, and/or what it would do to the topside of a beautiful wooden boat. I did notice that picture 17 in their gallery ( http://kayaksailor.com/gallery_photo.html ) seems to have a beautiful wooden CLC kayak in it, but without one of their rigs on it. 

 

Anyway, just thought I'd see if anyone had used one with any of the CLC boats and try to get a review from someone not on their site. 

 

Thanks :) 

 

-- James


2 replies:

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RE: kayaksailor.com rig on a clc boat?

While those rigs look nice, they don't look like they are a little small to really get you sailing, but that's probably good, as you wouldn't have any outriggers.  Also, one thing to consider, is that it looks like they mounting system they have requires the mast to be up at the bow.  This would put your sail too far forward to do anything more than sail downwind.  

 I have learned that sailing a kayak is similar but not the same as sailing a sailboat.  Kayaks are made to go straight with little effort so the sails and the rudder need to be adjusted accordingly.  I have a Klepper S4 sail rig with CLC outriggers on my kayak.  I have learned that it is pretty much impossible to sail on the jib alone unless I just want to go downwind.  The jib in this case would be pretty much in the same position as one of the kayaksailor sails.  However, with the mainsail up, I can upwind sail about as well as any but the most well designed sailboats.  The mainsail on my rig, much like the CLC specified sail starts from the mast which is just in front of the cockpit and stretches to a couple of feet behind the cockpit.  

 My advice if you really want to sail your kayak is to go the full enchilada and build a CLC sail rig kit.  If you want to spice things up, add a Klepper or similar sail rig to it.  I did this because I can raise and lower the sails without having to unstep the mast.  Or, if you really want to do some serious sailing, sell your kayak and build a Skerry.   

RE: kayaksailor.com rig on a clc boat?

AAAAGRH#@$#$@#

ok, so now that I hit the wrong button and lost my 1/2 hour reply, I'm going to try again. (this time I'm typing it up in a word-processor and copying it over)

Casey, thanks for the feedback.

I didn't notice till after I posted that their biggest model is only about 1/3 the size of the clc sail. Even accounting for the drag of the ammas, that's a LOT more sail.

My end goal is to cross to the california channel islands, and then go kayaking there. This poses a number of interesting problems. Wind speeds vary from < 5kts in the morning to > 20 kts most evenings. Seas vary from calm and flat to gentle 6+ft swells, and occasional chop. On a less important note, the rock gardens are often > 10k from the nearest place I could beach my rig to ditch the sail component.

My previous boat was a 19' keelboat. All of the expenses of a real boat, but without the room to carry anything but a small inflatable. I got a kick out of the fact that the kayaks I'm looking at now all have similar or longer waterlines, and weigh 1/20'th of the lead I had in the keel. =)

What have you done with the leeboards and do you think that playing with the positioning might give you more versatility in sail setup, and allow you to do jib only? Is the Klepper rig reefable? What rudder are you using, and how well does it deal with the forces put on it by sailing?

Ideally, I would find a way to set up the trimaran rig, but with adjustable leeboards to allow for a more balanced helm. I'd want to try and get some type of sailing rig which I could reef in mid passage, and while we're dreaming, I should be able to anchor the ammas and sail (which implies the sail is not mounted on the kayak proper) and then get the kayak disengaged and reengaged while still in the water to allow me to leave the rig just outside the breakers, and then go play in the gardens. I know that this is bordering on impossible, but I just figured I'd throw out a number of ideas  and questions, as every once in a while someone has a ready made answer to what I thought was an impossible problem.

As it is, it looks like you're right, and the hot tip will probably be to get the clc rig, and start looking at either the Klepper, or just talking to some dingy sailing buddies and rigging up something which will allow me to reef when I need to, and to carry incredible amounts of sail when I'm feeling daring. I have been looking at the water tribe rudder which allows for adjusting the amount ahead of the pivot point, which should help me ensure I get neutral rudder.


If you have any other pointers or lessons learned from your own experience, I would greatly appreciate them.

Thank you very much for sharing your experience.

-- James

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