BicSport Sail on PA12

where I plan to spend a lot of time fishing, downstream from Florence on the Siuslaw (4.5miles to the bar), the prevailing wind that comes up in the afternoon is always pushing right up the river and by having a sail available, I can ride that wind back to the launch at Florence Marina...

so I went with the BicSport sail ($79) and started by adding a short piece of PVC to the bottom that fits into the sail holder built into the front of my PA12, the lower support straps are looped around Scotty Rocket Launchers and the higher straps, that allow some adjustment for off center tailwind, these are connected to the lift rails on each side of the kayak which puts them in easy reach from the seat.

my first test, in very light winds, I was moving along at 3mph and the wind was just barely keeping the sail up, in fact the sail would flop over as the wind died, so I used a pair of old Aldila golf shafts to make a 2 piece mast that slips into the PVC at the bottom and through an existing loop at the top of the sail.  This mast keeps the sail vertical but still allows it to bow out in the wind since the top loop can just slide up and down the mast...

the whole thing folds-up into a nice carry bag that I can store on the back behind my milk crate organizer.   One issue with these BicSport sails if that folding them up is tricky, the first fold is easy but the second fold requires a special step where you separate the sides and if done correctly, then it just flips over into a nice circular shape and slides right into the bag, watching the demo video several times really helped me master this....

cheers, roger

Bic Sport sail in action, under light winds moving me about 3mph past a marker bouy for reference, the orange safety flag helps show the wind direction, I was at 5mph soon after, at the end is an image of the sail folded down over the front hold on my PA12.  I expect to get many free rides from the wind up the Siuslaw river:

you were traveling 3mph upriver?   That's pretty good.

you were traveling 3mph upriver?   That's pretty good.

nope, that test was on a lake.  you can see from the water surface that there was really not much wind, no big waves or whitecaps, maybe 5mph breeze with gusts to 10mph.   it was pushing me a steady 3mph and I hit 5mph at least once...I can't wait to try it on the Siuslaw with a good 10-15mphs wind behind me and wind waves/whitecaps of a foot or 2, that could get exciting...cheers, roger

Cool toy!  How does it handle turns?  Is it possible to tack with this?

-Spot-

Cool toy!  How does it handle turns?  Is it possible to tack with this?

-Spot-

I think it will work to about 45degrees to either side of a direct tailwind, maybe a bit more.    it has a low strap on each side that I normally wrap around my rocket launcher rod holders, and a high strap on each side that I have now moved up so they now connect to my rear rails and come across at shoulder level (they were coming off right at my steering levers and got in the way), it is easy to adjust the straps to turn the sail to the side, then the rudder does the rest. 

what really made me happy was how easy it was to pull it down over the front hold, then I just used my front tie up rope to hold it down there out of the way...

this is the still image of the sail down over the front hold...