kayak sails

[Douugie]

Hey does anyone know the cost of the Pacific Action sale for a prowler 13?

[Mental]

I've got the 1.5m sail on my Ultra, not sure if you'd get away with the 1m on the P13 may be talk to the boys at Johnsons, the 1.5m sail is $385

[kayak chris]

the sails aren boat specific.
They come in a few sizes 1m and 1.5m are the common ones for sot kayaks. (personally have a 1.5m.)
I'm not 100 % sure on retail but think hey are around the $380ish mark (could be very wrong on this) so it's probably worth ringing someone like johnsons or canoe and kayak who stock them for pricing.

[slow2run]

Heres one that some may want to look at,http://www.kayaksailor.com?

[oldwetfish]

I dont think that I need to say too much here, but I might just add my 5 cents worth.

GET A HOBIE!!!

but seriously, I am saving up for a Hobie Tandem Island.
I do like the idea of staying with the Hobie, but I would like to be able to do some big trips, such as sailing to the next kayak meetup from Auckland - Coromandel.
The Adventure island I have has to be the best fishing vessel I have ever used, when fishing on the manukau harbour in summer, if you are out in the morning, you can almost guarantee a Sea Breeze, which gives you a very fast downwind leg back to the ramp.

Many times I have left the sail at home, and gone out just as a paddleyak.

But the ease of use for the sail system on the Hobie AI is astounding, for those of you who arent sailors, it is as simple as one rope in and one rope to roll the sail up (furl).
and with over 57 sq feet of sail, there is no end of excitement on a windy day.
(with the furl system you can turn down the excitement if you are feeling a little sheepish.

If you still arent sold, go to youtube and have a look at videos made by Yakabout.

[kingiFiddler]

Hello all,

Just bumping this poll/thread to ask if anyone is still or has started using, a sail?

Maybe I'm a tightass but I can't see US$150 in the Wind Paddle.

Has anyone actually used any of the cheap copies that are on trademe or ebay?

How about the Flat Earth sail?

Is anyone using a sail without a rudder or is that a stoopid question because rudders are essential? I'm wondering how far off downwind a rudder and the right sail would achieve.

Thanks.

[Hairy Little Dwarf]

You can use them without a rudder, put pretty much only for downwind blats.

I made the PA clone found on the interwebs as my first sail (PVC pipe and offcut from the local sailmakers) which scared the bejeezus out of me the first time I opened it up with a decent tailwind and pulled about 9kts

Still use the PA design and have no reason to change. Some claim the sails rock badly, but you just need to strap them down hard - I use old kayak roofrack tiedowns and have no issues. Best suited on longer yaks, and stows neatly down the side of the footwell.

The Flat Earth sails are still available, Mick who used to make them sadly passed away although I believe his family are continuing production. Big following in Oz for these. Takes some fairly serious mods to the yak from what I recall and is best if you're a 'real' sailor who likes to kayak.

Then the WindPaddle, the easiest of the three to stow with minimal deck clutter, and like the PA sail is good for opportunist downwind runs and can sail across the wind out to around 40° or so. With rudder.

[MikeAqua]

Call me a traditionalist but ... shouldn't that transducer be outside the boat?

[kingiFiddler]

Thanks for that. Rudder + sail = no fish finder until next Summer or Lotto, whichever comes first.

Anyone tried the cheap sails on Trademe/Ebay? Are they the crap quality I suspect they are and a waste of postage charges?

It's quite difficult accurately assessing the various products when coming from SFA yaking experience. For example, I'm trying to keep the area around my legs free of clutter and those sails that stow there look like a magnet for hooks and assorted carnage from a still-green fish? Not to mention something I'll kick the crap out of on my way overboard when I roll the yak.

But, I've got short legs so there's actually quite a bit of spare (or should that be underutilised) room forward of my feet.

[Douugie]

I brought a Windpaddle, really happy with it!!! well made, light, easy to stow and takes up little room.
I'd go the adventure model, also the service and quick reply from the guys in the US was awesome.

[paddlesnap]

[kingiFiddler]

Thanks paddlesnap. Perhaps there could be some sort of compromise shape/materials that would produce an OK drogue that, with the addition of an extra piece over the small end, then becomes a kite.

It's not often we'd need to deploy both at the same time.

[kingiFiddler]

Thanks Douugie. At least it's something that looks made to last, so perhaps OK value even if the initial price seems high.