I couldn’t bring myself to set the sail project aside quite yet so I grabbed a completely different kayak off the rack (my LPB design) and spent yesterday evening rigging it.
On the last rig I was veering towards complexity so this time I decided to simplify every detail as much as possible and see how that feels.
The mast is 3 inches taller and 3 inches farther forward on the kayak, and the sail is a bit higher aspect ratio than the last.
Despite my extreme skepticism of 2 stay systems I’ve rigged this one as 2 stay with 2mm spectra on both sides tied in different ways to see which side sags/slips more. I moved the uphaul fairlead 4 inches further forward because I can do that on this kayak. I switched out the bridle traveler for a simple middle of the deck bungee loop.
I’ve decided to ditch the fairlead clam cleat on the uphill line and go with another modified open clam cleat the same way I do with my sheet. A lot of people use the fair and micro clam cleats for both but in my experience those re-jam themselves far too easily in a critical moment when you really need them to be released. Any fear of losing either line is alleviated just by running the line beneath the nearest deck line.
I moved the sail tiedown 1/2 inch closer to the outside of the boat. (Details) and finally, I made sure to glue in some thigh braces just in case I end up upside down and need to roll. Hopefully the afternoon wind cooperates….
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