PaddleWise by thread

From: Larry Koenig <paddlin_at_home.com>
subject: [Paddlewise] sailing content
Date: Mon, 29 Nov 1999 13:28:24 -0600
All sophistry aside (entertaining though it may be), unless the list
excludes info on sailing by rule, I'd love to hear more about what can be
done with the wind to move a kayak.
Larry Koenig

***************************************************************************
PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not
to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission
Submissions:     paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net
Subscriptions:   paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net
Website:         http://www.paddlewise.net/
***************************************************************************
From: Jackie Fenton <jackie_at_intelenet.net>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] sailing content
Date: Mon, 29 Nov 1999 11:50:48 -0800 (PST)
> From: "Larry Koenig" <paddlin_at_home.com>

> All sophistry aside (entertaining though it may be), unless the list
> excludes info on sailing by rule, I'd love to hear more about what can be
> done with the wind to move a kayak.
> Larry Koenig


Hi Larry,

Though it has often been discussed here without any complaint about it not
being included on the intro, I've decided to add "kayak sailing" under the
topics of discussion on the list intro ( http://www.paddlewise.net/intro.html )
Maybe this will help.  Another topic that has often been discussed
here but was not specifically indicated on the list was boat design.  I've
added that as well alongside boat building.  So far, the folks here have been
mostly intuitive about what is acceptable and what is covered under the 
umbrella of these topic suggestions on the introduction.  

Cheers,

Jackie

***************************************************************************
PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not
to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission
Submissions:     paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net
Subscriptions:   paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net
Website:         http://www.paddlewise.net/
***************************************************************************
From: James Lofton <n5yyx_at_etsc.net>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] sailing content
Date: Mon, 29 Nov 1999 13:17:56 -0800
Larry Koenig wrote:
> 
> All sophistry aside (entertaining though it may be), unless the list
> excludes info on sailing by rule, I'd love to hear more about what can be
> done with the wind to move a kayak.
> Larry Koenig
> 
>

Hi Larry,

I'll have to cut this short(lunch break over), but I couldn't help but 
drop a quick line.

I see that you have, among several others, a greenlander. Not knowing 
much about the other kayaks you have, I would say that the greenlander 
would make a wonderful sailer.

In a nut shell, adding sailing to your kayaking is as, well.., remember 
when you found out that that those silly girls were more fun to be around 
sometimes than the guys...? Well, so is a kayak when you hook it up with 
a sail!
You havn't taken anything away, just opened up a whole new way to enjoy 
being on the water.

I have been "dabbling" with it for several years and can only call myself 
a dabbler still. I do know you can make your own downwind sail or go full 
hilt and get top of the line BSD batwing, complete with BOSS outriggers. 
You can go anywhere in between. I do warn you that the first time you get 
that free ride that there may not be any turning back. :-)
Nice thing about it is there are lots of gadgets to mess with and learn 
the names.
I also notice your paddling area is a prime area for this.

Maybe Mark will notice your post and clear up any of my slurries..

More later, got to run.
Good to see more interest!

James

***************************************************************************
PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not
to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission
Submissions:     paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net
Subscriptions:   paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net
Website:         http://www.paddlewise.net/
***************************************************************************
From: Michael W. Nelson <mnelson_at_i-cafe.net>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] sailing content
Date: Mon, 29 Nov 1999 18:38:52 -0800
>All sophistry aside (entertaining though it may be), unless the list
>excludes info on sailing by rule, I'd love to hear more about what can be
>done with the wind to move a kayak.
>Larry Koenig


Two things I have done, both with great fun and success:
1.  I took a standard nylon golf umbrella and used it as an "umbrellaker."
Simply open and hold with the wind behind you (or to the sides).  I steer
with my rudder and can't see real well, but with a good wind it moves me as
fast as I can paddle.  My first umbrella was shot after 2 1/2 hours of
sailing (it kept turning inside out), so I got another and ran nylon cord
from the top down to the handle along the spokes (so it looks like a
parachute with a handle).  I sewed this to the spokes with carpet thread.
Then I used stardard sewing elastic to put tension on the cords so that when
I folded up the umbrella the elastic would pull the cords up into the
umbrella so that they would not hang limp and tangle on everything.  It
works great but of course is only good for basic down wind sailing.  If the
wind is too strong from behind, you can reverse the umbrella so that it is
behind you and the rounded surface of the umbrella is facing the wind.

2.  I purchased plans for a kayak sail rig from Chesapeake Light Craft and
constructed it.  You can see it on their website.  It has amas and akas
constructed of wood, and a leeboard as well as a slighted larger rudder.  I
used an old windsurfer sail and the thing flies.  It is a wet and wild ride
and required some tinkering to get it to sail correctly but it is beautiful
and quite fun.  It sails upwind without problem.

By the way, there is a kayak sailing email posting list like this one.  The
address is
kayak-sail_at_shipwrecked.com

Yours,
Mike Nelson

***************************************************************************
PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not
to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission
Submissions:     paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net
Subscriptions:   paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net
Website:         http://www.paddlewise.net/
***************************************************************************
From: Mark Balogh <batwing_at_kerrlake.com>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] sailing content
Date: Tue, 30 Nov 1999 09:07:22 +0000
Larry or wisepaddlers,

 I posted a reply to this yesterday.  I never got a copy back to my
mailbox.  My only local ISP which is in someones garage is not 100%
dependable so I don't know if my message did not make it out or did not
make it back to me. Can someone tell me if my reply to this made it to
the list?
Thanks
Mark

Larry Koenig wrote:
> 
> All sophistry aside (entertaining though it may be), unless the list
> excludes info on sailing by rule, I'd love to hear more about what can be
> done with the wind to move a kayak.
> Larry Koenig


***************************************************************************
PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not
to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission
Submissions:     paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net
Subscriptions:   paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net
Website:         http://www.paddlewise.net/
***************************************************************************
From: Mark Balogh <batwing_at_kerrlake.com>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] sailing content
Date: Wed, 01 Dec 1999 08:14:04 +0000
Larry Koenig wrote:
> 
> All sophistry aside (entertaining though it may be), unless the list
> excludes info on sailing by rule, I'd love to hear more about what can be
> done with the wind to move a kayak.
> Larry Koenig

First, let me say that I am having some problem relating to my e-mail. 
I don't know if there is a problem with my e-mail client regarding the
reply or reply all buttons or if my rather undependable ISP is
misrouting mail. My computer and e-mail client are old and may be
suffering compatibility problems.  I am also getting excessive Java
error messages on the browser.  I have sent a reply to the list that
seems to have be received by some and not others, something that Jackies
says may not be possible.  Now I have heard from a list memeber that I
replied to directly who says my personal reply went to the list for
which I am sorry, it was not addressed to the list when it left my
desktop.  The one that went to the list never made it back to me on the
list so I am not sure what the problem is.  With this in mind, I am
going to go inactive for a day or so while I try to work this out. This
is the only list I am having the trouble with as far as I can tell. 
Meanwhile here is the text of one of the troublesome postings and reply
to above, that a list member has been kind enough to return to me. 
Sorry for any trouble this has caused. BTW this is reply all so a copy
should go to Larry and the list just to test.

Mark

It would be helpful to me if your stated interest was less broad so
please let me know if you have a specific type of kayak sailing in mind.
You can sail a kayak on any point of sail.  Considering that most were
not designed with sailing in mind, kayaks as a class sail pretty well. 
As you would expect, the more serious the sailing one wishes to attempt,
the more serious the gear one would need. As unpopular as it is in some
places, a rudder is normally used for most kayak sailing that I am aware
of. Of the thousands of sailing kayaks that I personally know of, all or
most all of them have rudders.  You can keep adding gear until the kayak
will sail in most available sailing directions relative to the wind. 
You can sail to windward with many types of sails and to some extent
with the newer traction kites. You can sail just for recreation or for
touring or cruising.  My personal kayaks range from a 9.5 ft whitewater
kayak which is my primary daysaling boat, for small kayaks I am also
rigging a planing hull Kaos SOT surf kayak for high performance traction
kiting, up through several hardshells and one other folder sailing kayak
to my Nautiraid Grand Raid double which is suitable for inland or ocean
cruising.  The Nautiraid has a screened bivy tent type cover for the
cockpit area for sleeping aboard at anchor in bad weather or bug country
and is being adapted for longer crossings solo under sail and paddle. 
So you can see that the range of uses for a sailing kayak is fairly
wide.  Some reasons why someone might want a sailing kayak beyond the
pure fun of it might be for the benefits of extened range and speed on
cruises or the safety of alternate propulsion when ill or injured. I
know a man who sailed home through a gale across an estuary to the
mainland with the flu when he was way too sick to paddle. With the gear
I use, my normal wind range for sailing starts at 5 to 8 knots and tops
out when the gusts reach about 45 depending upon water conditions.  The
fastest I have sailed in a kayak was probably near 15 though in good
conditions, sustained reaching speeds of 5 to 8 can be considered
common. Hoever my traction kite powered Kaos might break new ground next
spring.
That is the best basic broad answer I can give you, is there any
specific part of kayak sailing you might be interested in? I hope this
is helpful.

Mark


***************************************************************************
PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not
to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission
Submissions:     paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net
Subscriptions:   paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net
Website:         http://www.paddlewise.net/
***************************************************************************
From: Jackie Fenton <jackie_at_intelenet.net>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] sailing content
Date: Wed, 1 Dec 1999 07:50:33 -0800 (PST)
> From: Mark Balogh <batwing_at_kerrlake.com>

> First, let me say that I am having some problem relating to my e-mail. 
> I don't know if there is a problem with my e-mail client regarding the
> reply or reply all buttons or if my rather undependable ISP is
> misrouting mail. My computer and e-mail client are old and may be
> suffering compatibility problems.  I am also getting excessive Java
> error messages on the browser.  I have sent a reply to the list that
> seems to have be received by some and not others, something that Jackies
> says may not be possible. 

What is more likely, I think, is that some folks who might think they saw
your reply to that message actually saw an earlier reply of yours.  Of course,
when you send a message as "reply all" the original sender of the post you 
are replying to will receive your message (along with whomever else happens
to be in the copy line which is sometimes multiple addresses, I've noticed).
Bob will correct me if I'm wrong here... but if your message is received
by folks on the list that are not in the cc line, then it was received
by the PaddleWise server and sent on.  Since my name is the first on the
subscriber list and email goes out in that order, if I didn't see it, I
don't suspect it was ever received by the PaddleWise server.  

> Now I have heard from a list memeber that I
> replied to directly who says my personal reply went to the list for
> which I am sorry, it was not addressed to the list when it left my
> desktop.  

Well, though you may not have intended for it to be addressed to the list,
there is no way it would go to the list without you instructing your
server to send it to the list.  Sometimes folks hit "reply all" and don't
realize they did.  It does happen that folks send private messages and the
receiver *thinks* it was posted to the list and when they reply, they
either forward or address the reply to the list.  It happens to the
best of us :-)

> The one that went to the list never made it back to me on the
> list so I am not sure what the problem is.  With this in mind, I am
> going to go inactive for a day or so while I try to work this out. This
> is the only list I am having the trouble with as far as I can tell. 

Most problems folks have show up with a list such as PaddleWise because
it is so active.  I can't tell you how many error messages I receive 
each day because server failures at some ISP's.  I also receive error
messages in response to each message that goes out from the list for each 
subscriber whose mailbox is full.

A lot of email lists are set up so that if you only hit the reply button,
then your reply goes to the entire list.  This is, imo as well as
many other list-owners' opinions, improperly set up as the sender is not
*really* the list but the individual sending the message.  There is also
a bigger opportunity for private replies to end up being posted to
the entire list when a listserver is set up that way.   The best way to
make sure your reply goes to the entire list is select "reply all" then
delete any extra names other than PaddleWise unless you want the person
to whom you are replying to get your reply twice.  These days, due to spam, 
many servers are being configured in strange ways to prevent spamming or 
"relaying" (the unauthorized use of their server by a spammer to relay spam). 
Sometimes this prevents email from PaddleWise being received by your server 
(I get those error messages, too).  This is usually the result of erroneous 
configuration of a server.

Cheers,

Jackie




***************************************************************************
PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not
to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission
Submissions:     paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net
Subscriptions:   paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net
Website:         http://www.paddlewise.net/
***************************************************************************
From: James Lofton <n5yyx_at_etsc.net>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] sailing content
Date: Thu, 02 Dec 1999 13:27:35 -0800
Mark Balogh wrote:
>

(MAJOR SNIP)
to my Nautiraid Grand Raid double which is suitable for inland or ocean
cruising.  The Nautiraid has a screened bivy tent type cover for the
cockpit area for sleeping aboard at anchor in bad weather or bug country
and is being adapted for longer crossings solo under sail and paddle.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Mark, could you tell us a bit more about how you have set this boat up?
Did you remove the center rib(frount backrest), or how do you set it up 
for sleeping.
The bivy part is something I have toyed with in my head for years, but 
never have started sewing.
Can you get it quickly out of the way for paddling/sailing??

I travel sometimes at night to avoid heavy wind, and have had to tie to 
submerged stumps at night, to await daylight, so as to navigate narrow 
channels at the mouth of some rivers. A shelter that I could put up 
easily on my folbot(the bugs know you can't hide)seemed nice, but I also 
feared having something in my way if I needed to paddle quickly.


Anyway, when you can find the time, myself, and I'm sure others would 
find it interesting.

Thanks,

James

***************************************************************************
PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not
to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission
Submissions:     paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net
Subscriptions:   paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net
Website:         http://www.paddlewise.net/
***************************************************************************
From: Mark Balogh <batwing_at_kerrlake.com>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] sailing content
Date: Fri, 03 Dec 1999 09:31:03 +0000
James Lofton wrote:
> 
> Mark Balogh wrote:
> >
> 
> (MAJOR SNIP)
> to my Nautiraid Grand Raid double which is suitable for inland or ocean
> cruising.  The Nautiraid has a screened bivy tent type cover for the
> cockpit area for sleeping aboard at anchor in bad weather or bug country
> and is being adapted for longer crossings solo under sail and paddle.
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Mark, could you tell us a bit more about how you have set this boat up?
> Did you remove the center rib(frount backrest), or how do you set it up
> for sleeping.
> The bivy part is something I have toyed with in my head for years, but
> never have started sewing.
> Can you get it quickly out of the way for paddling/sailing??
> 
> I travel sometimes at night to avoid heavy wind, and have had to tie to
> submerged stumps at night, to await daylight, so as to navigate narrow
> channels at the mouth of some rivers. A shelter that I could put up
> easily on my folbot(the bugs know you can't hide)seemed nice, but I also
> feared having something in my way if I needed to paddle quickly.
> 
> Anyway, when you can find the time, myself, and I'm sure others would
> find it interesting.
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> James
James,

The quick answer is I don't know if my method could be used on a Folbot
in the same way because of the difference in the coamings/washboards. 
The Folbot skin attaches to the bottom of the coaming unlike many
folding kayaks where the skin wraps inside the coaming to attach to the
top.  Since it would have to be done differently and because I don't
know how quick you would need to remove it, I am not sure.
I will give a quick overview of my set up but it is a work in progress
and I am constantly changing and improving my whole rig.
I bought one of these full screen two hoop bivy type tents with fly on
sale for like $49 which was cheap enough to use in an experiment.
First I made drilled some 5/8" diameter fiberglass poles to accept the
ends of the tent's hoops.  These rest across the coamings.  I stretch
the ends of the tent out and attach to strong points on the deck with
adjustable lines and snap hooks.  I drew a line on the tent bottom to
the shape of the coaming.  I cut out the hole, used the removed fabric
to make a hem for the edge of the hole.  You need to make arrangements
in the hem for the two cross tubes and in my case my sail rig cross
tube.  Essentially on my boat there is a bungy draw string in the hem
that snaps under the lip on the coaming.  On the Folbot you might have
to use snaps or velcro to make a tight fit to keep the bugs out.  My
Grand Raid is deep in the cockpit so I did not need to remove the top of
the center rib.  I am configuring this boat to be sailed from more than
one seat position and with single or multiple rigs in different
locations so sometimes the mid rib seat support is in and sometimes
out.  You also need to do something to level the bottom so the ribs
don't dig into your ribs.  One way I have tried is small closed cell
foam pads between the ribs and then a normal sleeping pad. I have seen
some small inflatable pads someplace that might be good for that.  I
really don't have much chance to try it out as work is too busy so I
really can't say what the fastest set or douse time might be for this
set up but I expect it could be removed in a couple of minutes if
pressed.  Mine only opens on one side. If it opened on two, one might
paddle a short way to relocate if they were able to handle their anchor
line from the tent.  I seem to recall a similar tent set up mentioned on
a Klepper in Ralph's newsletter.

Mark




***************************************************************************
PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not
to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission
Submissions:     paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net
Subscriptions:   paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net
Website:         http://www.paddlewise.net/
***************************************************************************

This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Thu Aug 21 2025 - 16:33:05 PDT