Re: [Paddlewise] Thoughts on the Pacific Action Sail Rig?

Make your own and save $300.  Rebecca Heap came up with the original 
design and used to give away plans and take workshops at symposiums.  
Pacific Action used these plans as the basis of their (??) design.

The link below is for Rebecca's plans.  Very cheap & easy to make, it 
performs just as well as the commercial version.

http://home.clear.net.nz/pages/grantglazer/Kayak/Hintssail.htm

Cheers
Grant

James Farrelly wrote:
> The Good
> I am very hard to impress and at a price of about $350 US taxed and  
> shipped for the 1 meter sail I turn into impossible to impress. The  
> sail impressed me. A lot, frankly. All components are of the highest  
> quality. Workmanship is flawless. The design is right on and is a  
> snap to learn to use. Easy to set up and take down, I have trained a  
> 12 yr old and a 15 yr old to use it well with just a two minute  
> class. Most of that two minutes was spent impressing the importance  
> of speed in striking the sail and securing it to the bungie. My wife  
> who is a surgeon and a full Colonel in the Army was a bit harder to  
> train as she is used to being in charge but we got through the class  
> well enough. Everyone I have taken out sailing in my Shearwater  
> double baidarka has been a non paddler and absolutely had a blast. It  
> is especially cool when the hull starts to make that gurgling sound  
> as water passes under it. I went out on a test sail in very high  
> winds and the kayak rocketed along comfortably. If I had the money I  
> would buy the 2 meter sail for light wind days. Maybe next year. I  
> was advised to modify the rig a bit and did. I replaced the original  
> sail control line or sheet with two ten foot pieces of sheet  
> material. I installed two deck clamcleats. All of this really helped  
> and cost an additional $30. Sail control was simplified, became more  
> precise and physically easier.
>
> The Bad
> The only strong criticism of the PA sail concerns the instructions  
> for installation. As a person who has built four kayaks from kits and  
> a Melonseed sailboat from a line drawing and not much else I found  
> the PA sail instructions almost useless. I went on line and looked at  
> photos of installed PA rigs to wing it as best I could. A critical  
> step to pay attention to is mounting the twin sail posts that hold  
> the sail erect. You must ensure that the twin posts, which look like  
> your fingers making a peace sign, are spread out as far as possible  
> so the sail sets flat. This will take two helpers or some jury  
> rigging to hold the posts away from each other. The posts are then  
> permanently set at this angle with a pair of screws bisecting the  
> posts. Get it wrong and you either have to redrill the posts possibly  
> weakening them or live with your error.
>
> The Ugly
> My Mother-in-law
>
> I would spend the money again in a heartbeat.
>
> Jim et al
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