DIY sails, rigging, daggerboards for kayak - reasonable expectation for sailing to weather?

*Edited - somehow deleted post, and double-posted pics*

I completed my first successful sail today, so I figured I'd post a few pics, and go over what I ended up with.

I made a keel I can strap onto the bottom of the kayak, with the straps going over the top and through the kayak rails. I figured the weight of the keel might help stabilize the boat. Unfortunately, it didn't much. Did work though, and provided a lot less water resistance than the leeboards.

Ended up making a new mainsail, with a three metre mast and two metre boom. I'm not entirely sure what I was thinking, since I'd already had a great deal of difficulty with stability with the smaller flat-earth sail. First time I tested the bigger one, I spent half a hour struggling to mount the mast in the windy and choppy conditions, before finally succeeding - and immediately rolling and losing the mast. Spent a fun half-hour dragging the kayak, boom and sail up onto the rocks and searching fruitlessly for the mast.

Switched to model boats, since they're easier to make, and I figured I could test different solutions at a smaller scale. Tried a few different things, and finally settled on an outrigger system. Required a lot of fiddly work with the welder and grinder, but got there eventually.

Features / Issues

Starting with the strongest feature and biggest issue with the entire setup - it can all be broken down and put in the back of my van (or strapped to a roof-rack, I guess). No need for a trailer.

The biggest issue is just how long it takes to drag it all down to the water and put it all together. About a hour fifteen. Then the same again at the end to break it up again. Just kayaking, I'm usually on the water after ten minutes.
Means I won't really be using it unless it's a full day trip.

So how does she sail? Not super fast, but I did find she sails to weather much better. 45 degrees to weather or better, though only at one knot. 90 degrees to the wind, I get about one and a half knots, and downwind I get three - the same as my fastest paddling speed. This was with an 8 knot wind.

Pontoons are set far enough away from the boat I can still paddle. They don't fully support my weight, but stabilize the boat enough that I can't even deliberately capsize it while still in the cockpit. In the moderate winds today (a bit less than 10 knots), I had no issues at all with stability.

The strap-on keel is a bit of a pain to... well, strap on. I got to roll the boat on it's side, and continually adjust the straps until it's center. Also means I can no longer hop in with six inches of water and expect to go anywhere. Took a little while to adjust the wooden keel forward and back in it's mounting (thus, stopping the boat pulling hard to wind, or downwind), but it's just about perfect now.

Sail itself is sort of temporary. Made from cheap tarp, duct tape and grommets to connect to the mast and boom, it was originally supposed to be a quick and easy way of testing if the sail design works before making it out of cloth. Found it works much better than the bedsheet material I'd been using before though, so if I make a new one, I'll keep using cheap tarp.

Rigging consists of a line to hoist and de-hoist the mainsail, as well as a mainsheet - now set 2/3 of the way along the boom (thanks guys). Among other things, the line to hoist the sail means I can launch the boat with the mast already mounted, rather than strapped to the deck. Mounting the mast while dealing with swell and wind isn't fun.

I don't currently have any lines to hold the boom down, but found today that I can do that with my paddle. With the extra stability the pontoons give me, I no longer need my paddle constantly in the water, bracing in case of a sudden gust of wind.

One issue I have found is the rear crossbeam for the pontoons gets in the way of the boom a bit. Can fix by extending the tip of the mast a little, therefore pulling up the sail and boom.

Where to from here?

A few minor improvements like extending the mast a little so the boom doesn't run into the the rear crossbeam, and maybe a slightly better made sail. The biggest improvement I've got planned is a forward sail. Should be able to make an anchor point for a bowsprit that fits under the forward handle of the kayak. Honestly though, I think I'll just enjoy sailing for a bit, before I worry about modifying it further.

 

It's encouraging to see that you've made it work. I'm planning a DIY catamaran this year with a tarp sail.

 

I'll look forward to seeing what you come up with.

 

Rather than a tarp for a sail, try something more like an old nylon tent fly. I think it would hold a better shape under wind pressure and be lighter.

 

Some good learning made.
I wish I had viewed your posts earlier. Your first attempt was actually pretty good.
You learned about balancing CE and CLR. You also came to the realization that the boom needs to be pulled down and not just sideways. Having the boat end of the main sheet forward will pull the boom down as well as sideways. The further forward the more downward leverage it has. Some sailers use a VANG between the boom to the mast base or just aft to pull down on the boom.

On your next sail -
Orient the threads to be as close to 0/90° to the leech as possible. This will greatly reduce the sails baggieness.

 

I apologize for 7 really dumb questions (I'm not a sailor, at least not a successful one):

1. If you capsize - how much do you have to take apart and put back together to right it?

2. The way you have set it up reduces the total available paddle stroke length, and limits how far forwards you can take a bow draw or pry, and how far back you can tack a stern draw or pry. Is this to be a problem? I assume that's why you've mounted the cross beams so far off the deck, but you are still limited.

3. To augment the rudder, do you also use an appropriately feathered and positioned vertically held paddle to steer your boat, like many whitewater boaters do? And, if you want to "come about", can you use a bow draw to do it quickly?
I know you said you use the paddle to hold down the boom, so you can't do that. But if you fix that...

4. When you aren't using the paddle, can you strap it down? I don't see any bungees. Assuming again that you fix using the paddle to hold down the boom.

5. If do capsize, and you have a paddle leash, do you expect the paddle leash to tangle in your other lines?

6. Do you carry a decent knife on the outside of your PFD, to cut lines if you become tangled in them underwater?

7. If the underwater straps come a bit loose, they will create a lot of drag. Is it rigged in a way that prevents that? I do like, though the way that you've managed to simply strap everything together.

I guess a shifting wind suddenly could drive the boom hard across your body, which is locked in place inside the boat. I hope you don't get hurt.

I wonder if you could turn this into a pseudo-windsurfer, sailing in a standing position...

It's good to see you are using an uncrowded beach. I'd hate to see this rapidly sail or surf into someone. Of course that is a potential problem with any sailboat.

I hope it holds together in all the sea conditions you use it in.

 

Hi Mitch. No, they don't seem like dumb questions at all.

1. Capsizing?
First, I need to state the boat is remarkably stable. I'm not even sure it can capsize. That said, I haven't tested it in strong winds yet, and I do plan to add a forward sail. I will of course be sailing within reach of land when I first test these.

Until I've finished testing everything and start sailing further away from land, the biggest issue in a capsize is the 3 meter mast, which would almost certainly get stuck against the bottom. If I'm lucky, I'd be able to pull it out of the mast mount (It's only held in with gravity and the tension from the lines) before it bent. But that didn't answer your question.

If I capsize, I'd first need to remove the four split pins (and washers) locking the kayak onto the crossbeams, then use my hands and feet to push the kayak off the pins of the crossbeams. It'd be easy enough then to roll the kayak the right way up. Below is the locking pins for one of the height beams for the pontoons, but it's the same set-up for the locking pins on the central height beams (No idea what their proper name is, if they have one, but I needed to call them something).



I'd then need to get the outrigger system away from the kayak, and stand on one end to flip it. Should be easy enough, but with a strong wind, might be a little easy to get separated from the kayak. A spare line I can use to connect the two should fix that.

The real trick would be putting the kayak back on the crossbeam pins after. Would probably be easy enough in calm conditions, but the kayak isn't likely to capsize in calm conditions. It's also going to be full of water, thus sit lower in the water. I expect this process to be incredibly painful, and maybe even impossible.

If I can get it back on the crossbeams with the washers and split pins back on, I'd use a bailer to empty out the water. I'd expect the entire process to take about half a hour.

2. Reduced stroke length?
I did notice the forward crossbeam could have been perhaps 30cm further forward, as it interferes a bit with my stroke. Not enough to make a huge difference, but enough to be annoying. I didn't recall any issues with bow or stern draws - probably because the crossbeams are quite high and I can sweep the paddle underneath.

3. Paddle for turning?
The boat turned about 20% wider than normal, but honestly the rudder was a lot more effective than I expected it to be - especially with the strap-on keel underneath. I did on occasion use the paddle to turn, but usually only when I was already paddling (because it was much faster to paddle when going into the wind). I didn't have any occasion to make a hard turn, so I can't honestly say how well it would do - though most likely, it would be about the same as normal, though 20% slower. If barely moving, I paddle hard on one side. If moving fast, I use the paddle as a brake on one side.

At the moment, to come about, I need to use my paddle to turn as the sail just isn't efficient enough to bring me through it.

4. Strapping down the paddle
I don't currently have anything to strap the paddle down. I don't think I'd want to, as I'd want to be able to just grab it instantly so I could brake / make a hard turn. I did find I could rest it on the crossbeams.

I did use the paddle to hold down the boom, but the sail still worked fine when I wasn't doing that - it was just a lot less efficient.

5. Tangled paddle leash
I do have a bungee paddle leash. I don't really expect to capsize, but if I do, I don't expect it to get tangled with the lines to the point where it will cause problems. There's really only two lines, and both of them are usually taut.

6. Knife?
Yes, I've got a knife, strapped onto a weight belt I bought. It's one of the things I needed to get before I even considered testing it - as well as a bailer, paddle leash, leash for myself, and probably a few other things I've forgotten.

7. Loose straps?
The underwater straps already create a bit of drag, though not a huge amount. They're not able to come loose though, as they're ratchet straps. The loose ends of the straps are on deck and tucked under some bungee webbing.

To be honest, I much prefer the lee-boards I made before, but they'd need to be adjacent to the cockpit

Shifting wind:
I've only tested this in light to moderate winds so far, so I can't really say. I can say the boom tends to run into my shoulders more than my head though, so at least I don't have to worry about being concussed.

Windsurfer:
With the outrigger setup, I can actually stand up in the kayak in calm conditions, but it raises the center of gravity enough to make it rather unsafe. One of the reasons it's so unlikely to tip is the very low center of gravity when I'm sitting in it. If I increased the size of the pontoons though, I could stand up quite easily. Though if I was going to do that, I'd get rid of the kayak altogether and just have a bolt-together beach cat.

Current pontoons are 100mm (a bit less than 4") in diameter, cost about $75 AUD for the two of them, and can support a bit more than 70kg (150 pounds) each. Next size up is 150mm (A bit less than 6") in diameter and supports - if I remember, 150kg (330 pounds) each. Doing the pontoons at 150mm does costs four times as much however.

Uncrowded beach:
I'm fortunate enough that the nearest beaches are all relatively uncrowded. That said, I don't even unfurl the sails till I'm well out past everyone.

Honestly, the biggest issue with this - especially once I add a foresail and tweak it enough so it actually goes fast-ish, is visibility. Most sails have transparent windows for the boater to see through, but for me, I basically lose 180 degrees of visibility. I lift up the boom every so often to see what's out there, but I'm still quite concerned about other boats. Fortunately, the area I'm sailing in rarely has other boats. In the roughly 10 times I've been kayaking there, I've seen another boat twice.

Holding Together:
Even in the light to moderate winds I tested in, I noticed the wooden gooseneck (that connects the boom to the mast) had developed some cracks. I'm holding off any more sailing until I've made a new, stronger one. The crossbeams are fine with the wind I tested them in, but do bend a bit more than I'd like. If I'm not happy with how they handle heavy swell / winds, I'll replace them with thicker crossbeams. This'll be easy enough, as it's just a matter of drilling two holes in the right spot, then painting it. The biggest issue is the added weight.


Speaking of future sailing, I'm unlikely to be doing any this side of next (Australian) summer. I'm moving back to Alice Springs (1,500 km to the nearest ocean) for winter in a month and a half, and am busy with other projects. Before I go sailing again, I need to remake the gooseneck, as well as design and make a foresail (and sprit for it) that's able to be both furled and unfurled from the cockpit, and used semi-furled. It will probably look something like the following:

6:45 - 7:15 for the foresail furling system



Thanks for the questions, and happy sailing.

 

If it were my boat, I'd move the leeboards in front of the mast, and not bother adding a second pair.
Normally, doing this will create a horrible weather helm (making the boat always wanting to point dead into the wind). But your rudder is pretty far aft aft, and it has a nice high aspect ratio (deep and short). Because it is so far aft, it has a lot of lever arm to fight against the boat's will to point dead upwind. Its high aspect ratio should make it relatively easy to turn, even when there is a lot of load on it. If you can pull up the lee boards when sailing downwind, one of the more stringent objections to having a strong weather helm will no longer apply.
The technique for getting underway may need a little thought.
Best to get the boat moving before sheeting in the sail. Sheet it in only until it stops fluttering, and then just a little bit more. You should feel the boat start to scoot under you.
After that, you should be able to keep it moving with little trouble.
Changing tacks may require a little help with the paddle, as you are likely to get caught in irons (the boat refusing to turn onto the new course).

 

If Australia has such uncrowded beaches, no wonder people love it!

>Honestly, the biggest issue with this - especially once I add a foresail and tweak it enough so it actually goes fast-ish, is visibility.
>Most sails have transparent windows for the boater to see through, but for me, I basically lose 180 degrees of visibility.

Can mount mirrors on the crossbeams to give you visibility?

 

I just watched the "how to build a DIY sailing kayak" video you posted as an example.

I'm completely astonished how well and precisely he makes that boat maneuver. I consider the Hobie kayaks to be some of the clumsiest, slowest boats on the market. But he took advantage of their stability, and I love the way the sails furl and unfurl so quickly. Not the fastest sailboat on the water, but it works very well - at last in his hands. (He is clearly not new to sailing.)