Wind paddle

  With the Adventure I could use the turbo fins as a dagger board and the rudder for steerage.

I built one of these a few years ago and I got my Adventure to point pretty good with it using exactly that (turbo fins and rudder)

http://www.sit-on-topkayaking.com/Articles/SurfSail/JNR-KayakSail.html

Hi All.  Nick from WindPaddle Sails here.  We probably don't do a good enough job describing the off-the-wind sailing angles of the WIndPaddle.  Here's a video showing the sail in action and describing HOW to sail it -

Basically you can sail the WindPaddle downwind in about a 180 degree or sailing heading.  Rudder or no rudder, anything from 90 to the left of the wind or 90 to the right.  Let us know if you have any questions.

nick@windpaddle.com

-Nick (Owner)

Welcome Nick!

Can you tell us the difference between the Scout and the Adventure models?  They seem to have the same sail specs.  Thanks.

-Allen

Thanks Nick!
 
It could bee said or shown better than that! I was also wondering the diff between the adventure and the scout. I have a Malibu Extreme which is 15'.

Yea, you are right.  We should stick to making great sails rather than lame videos,..  We have some sails to trade for great video work!

Anyway, The sails work off-the-wind up to about a 180 degree down or off-the-wind angle.

As far as the difference between the "Scout" and the "Adventure", we took the original WIndPaddle "Adventure" sail and put in a much lighter, softer batten that resulted in a less expensive product and a sail that can be much easier coiled and folded.  It wasn't that the "Adventure" was that hard to fold but the "Scout" makes it almost automatic.  But hey, if it were easy, Jet Skiers would be all over it, right?  

The "Scout", since it has a softer perimeter batten is more forgiving and will deform and bend in higher winds where the "Adventure" will maintain sail shape.  We just returned from "Canoecopia", a consumer show in Madison, WI and the "Adventure" still outsold the "Scout"!  I guess price is less of an issue than I had assumed.

So the ONLY difference in the two sails is the perimeter batten stiffness.

-Cheers, Nick

Ohhhhellyeah! Welcome , Nick!.... glad to have you with us.

funny about one outselling the other. might be a perceived durability thing since you say that the Adventrue is a bit stiffer.  no size difference, tho?

been looking at about 3 different sails, and by far yours is the simplest to install and control. just what a yak fisherman needs.

I am NOT a sailor and know virtually nothing about sailing.  Ironically, I've never been interested in getting someplace slow and being cold.  Who would have thought I'd get hooked by kayak fishing?  What is the theory behind tacking upwind?  I understand force vectors and such and can guess that with a rudder a significant portion of a direct cross-wind component could be directed somewhat upwind by a rudder.  Is that the idea?  Is a rudder the key?

A rudder will help you steer the boat to the coarse you need for tacking, but you need a daggerboard (correct term?) in the center of the boat to keep it from sliding.  Since you have a hobie, you can kinda use your drive fins for that purpose.

Lee is right.  A boat needs "traction" if it is going to sail up wind, and these traction devices are keels, centerboards and leeboards.  Essentially anything in the water that prevents or limits the boat from sliding sideways in the water.  Skegs, hard chines and V-bottoms are also ways to give boats lateral traction.

Basically the deal is that kayaks and canoes can be paddled very efficiently.  They can also be "sailed" down or off-the-wind well too.  Strap a sail to a kayak and canoe and they go real fast off the wind with no modifications to the boats.  (Off the wind sailing is in the 180 degree envelope downwind.  From 90 degrees left and right of directly downwind.)

You can however get a kayak, SOT and Canoe to sail upwind, but to do so you need to add more than just a sail.  You will also need the above mentioned keels, boards, etc.  Yes even a paddle inserted into the water next to you works!  There are a number of "Sail Rigs" out there for canoes and kayaks which have all of the above and even pontoon floats to reduce heeling.  (check out Balough, Kayaksailor, et. al.)  These are great sailing SYSTEMS, but are also heavy, cumbersome and perhaps heavy.  I personally like the innovative Kayaksailor because it is compact and allows for almost instant Mast dousing.

So, to bring an end to this lecture, WindPaddle makes a sail that offers the best sailing possibilities for kayaks and canoes with the least amount (none actually) of modifications or additions to the boat at the lightest weight and least cost.  Sailing is also FUN, which is why we do this.  That and we're lazy paddlers...

Thanks for the lesson.  I've got the sailing rudder and the turbo fins on the mirage drive and the pedals are easy enough to bungee together.  I think I'm going to go for it. 

We seriously need a dedicated forum outlet for FFTW's inventions and builds.  I'm guessing they extend beyond the realm of paddling/fishing.  Officially intrigued.....

We seriously need a dedicated forum outlet for FFTW's inventions and builds.  I'm guessing they extend beyond the realm of paddling/fishing.  Officially intrigued.....

Isn't that the DAMHIK forum?   

-Allen

I picked up an Adventure Wind Paddle last week.  Hopefully I'll review it in a couple weeks.  Once you practice coiling it up it becomes easy.  Practice it sitting on the floor with your heels holding down the tie-downs, as it's a little different than coiling it standing up.  Watch the video.

Has anyone tried the Pacific Action Sails ... http://www.pacificaction.com/

Supposedly more than just a downwinder.

-Allen

Haven't tried mine yet, but I bought one from Outdoor Play last year, installed the mounting hardware on my Tarpon 140, and rigged it up for practice in my yard. Looking forward to trying it out soon.
Yes the plan is to take advantage of the  NW or onshore breeze, returning to the launch.

I've also been trying to figure out a mizzen mast configuration, leeboard set-up, and outriggers.
It would be easier and quicker just to cough up the 5 G$  for an AI!

I ran into these guys at a paddlefest this weekend ... http://kayaksailor.com/

It's a more traditional sail and includes leeboards.

-Allen