I managed to find some decent wind yesterday to test the new sail rig. With the wind blowing 12-15 and gusting to 25, and 1-2mph of current against me, I started out with the 1 square meter ripstop nylon sail, but it was too twitchy in the gusts, and I had to throw several fast braces to keep from getting knocked down.
Switching to the .8 meter laminate sail made a huge difference, still exciting but safer feeling. Unlike my personal F1 kayak, I was able to keep the LPB under control even in the stronger gusts. Going 7 mph (8 really because of current) was fun.
The 2-stay system worked better than I thought it would, but I wasn’t thrilled with the centrally mounted bungee loop traveler.
Compared to the bungee bridle I set up last time, the loop significantly decreases the Vang effect making accidental gybes more likely, AND more powerful. So back to the bungee bridal it is.
I’m still feeling a little freaked out about getting accidentally knocked over. I deliberately went over once in the wind and rolled back up but it’s not the same as it happening by accident. I’ll have to get out there with a safety boater and push the system into a real knock down.
I feel like the light weight of the skin boat works against me here, and a heavier kayak would really damp down the twitchiness. I’m not about to give up my 30 pound kayaks anytime soon though because they are a lot faster and they massively increase the amount of places I can launch and land.
I have mixed feelings about adding a skeg. I’m pretty proud of the fact that my skegless sea kayak designs surf amazing and are dead neutral even in a 40 mph crosswind. I also just think that mechanical complexity is out of place on a skin boat, but at the same time I would love to be able to sail long distances with less steering strokes, so I’m thinking about building an F1 with a skeg once I’m done with the spring canoe builds.
This might not be necessary though. Several students have added commercially made triangular sails to the F1 and it sails well. So the next step is to build triangular sails and try them on both boats. It’s all a process…
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