There are plenty of prejudices about sailing with a kayak. Most are very, very, very persistent. Especially among older canoeists. The cause is the first generation of sailing canoes from roughly the 1930s. Clumsy things that mostly resembled a classic sailboat, complete with gaff, jib and even leeboards. The sailing Klepper - a foldable canoe made of canvas - is still etched in the memory of many.
The idea that sailing a kayak is a bit crazy seems to be inherited. For example, I recently paddled right past an older acquaintance in a Canadian canoe. I was sailing on a cutting edge close reach right passed him thinking he would be impressed. As I glided past him, I heard him say: 'Yeah, nice, such a sail. Downwind only I guess.' Holy crap! Recently, I had my sail kayak on display at my club when an older member spontaneously said, "Yeah, it looks like a yacht."
I feel less and less inclined to fight the prejudices. To seal this, I'll list a few more here. Then I'll call it a day.
•'If I want to sail, I'll buy a sailboat!'
The fun of paddle sailing is that you still need your paddle to steer, support and sometimes paddle along to go even faster. Paddle sailing is pure kayaking as you are used to, but with a completely different feeling and of course a lot of extra propulsion. With the sail you always have something fun to do, to catch up with that one wave and surf over and to rely on when you get tired. I think a normal sailboat is a lot more boring
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| Flat Earth-zeil with me paddlesailing, Waddensea, the Netherlands |
'A kayak is not a sailboat.'
A kayak is an excellent sailboat in spite of having to use a paddle frequently. Because of its gigantic length - compared to its narrow width - a kayak has the same drift as a dinghy with a daggerboard or leeboard. So little, just like other sailboats. Ever tried towing a kayak that's sideways? Almost impossible.
A kayak with a deep V-shape is even better but a nearly flat bottom kayak will do almost just as fine. What certainly helps against drifting sideways is forward speed. As soon as you pck up wind and speed, the tracking will be a lot better.
'You are bound to flip in a strong wind.'
I won't say you can never flip. But it rarely happens. Paddle sails offer a little more stability, at least in big waves, thanks to the pressure in the sail and the simultaneous leaning of the paddle sailer. A Flat Earth sail from Australia is made for trips across the Tasmanian Sea and very forgiving. Due to the cut of the sail, excess wind quickly blows away along the top. A sail from Falcon Sails from America catches the wind better thanks to a clear aircraft profile and therefore producing a little more speed. The downside is that it's less forgiving, especially with very gusty beam winds. Then it is important not to pull the sail too tight. I have used both sails. The Flat Earth feels like an model T-Ford, the Falcon sails like a Maserati.
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| A Falcon-sail. |
•'It causes a lot of hassle on deck.'
A flat stowed kayaksail is no more cluttered than, for example, two spare paddles on deck. Or stuff on your deck in front of the cockpit. This prejudice is similar to 'I don't want a car because then you have to find a parking space' or 'I don't want a partner because then you have even more stuff in the house.'
•'The sail gets in the way when paddling.'
This would only be possible for upwind courses (tacking against the wind) when the sail is sheeted in, almost parallel to the keel line. And only if your forward strokes resembles a K1 kayaker: maximum shoulder rotation, paddle far forward and held high. At such an occasion you can simply paddle a little lower. Paddling with a good sail and a favorable wind puts less pressure on the paddle blade, arms and shoulders.
'You can't roll with a sail.'
If you can roll, you can do that with a sail.
Here are two options: before initiating the roll, first remove the sheet line from its cleat. This will allow the sail to move freely under water like a weathervane. The other sheet - uphaul line - holds the mast, if you pull it loose, the complete rig will move with your roll offering no resistance (see video above). When you get fully upright again, the entire rig and sail lays flat on the water. The second option is to slowly rise to the surface with your paddle blade while sculling. When you reach the surface, flip back up like making a high support.
• 'It's down wind only.'
The most persistent prejudice, still stemmand from earlier times when canoe sails indeed could not go upwind. Such sails are still there, for example the forked sail (Pacific Action) and the windbag called Wind Paddle.
These sails are only suitable for followig winds and very occasionally from the side. Nothing more. In my opinion there are three serious sails on the market for upwind sailing that are safe, manageable and create a real fusion between the kayak and the sail. And those are Falcon Sails, Flat Earth sails and Sea Dog sails (which are very similar to Flat Earth). The Falcon sail can reach up to 35 degrees off the wind, Flat Earth reaches a maximum of 40 degrees. I have no experience with the Sea Dog. All three are extremely refined in all their simplicity. And can do much more on large water and in strong winds. The Flat Earth sail in particular is very forgiving in high winds. With the Falcon sail you will feel a little more heeling force in strong wind gusts, like being in a tippy kayak. The advantage is that the Falcon sail is slightly faster, even more so in light winds.
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| Falcon Sail with a classical airplane wing shape (only visible when seen from the front or rear). |
Incidentally, when reaching very close to the wind, you have to paddle along. The aircraftwing profile of a good sail only works optimally if you add some extra speed. The wind then skims past the sail faster than the actual wind speed, as experienced by me and by the Scottish paddle sailor virtuoso Douglas Wilcox
•'Nice toys.'
The most frequently heard prejudice. I lived and sailed for twelve years on a large historic motor freighter. Sometimes I came across kayakers and thought 'nice toys' too. When one of them pushed through the lock, I sometimes called out from my high wheelhouse: 'Go away, with your Tupperwear.' Only much later, after I had shaken off the leaden burden of a large ship, did I become a member of my kayak club Never Dry in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and a whole new world opened up for me. A kayak is a fascinating vessel, wobbly and at the same time more seaworthy than any inland vessel, and most appealing to a sense of freedom and simplicity through its speed, silence and easy transport by road. A sailing kayak has all that and more. It is not without reason that the first serious paddle sailors came from Australia. There, on the raging Tasmanian Sea, the first models of Flat Earth-like sails were tried out in the 1970s. Nowadays, a good sail is part of the standard safety equipment for sea trips in Australia. If you don't have a good sail, you can't come along. Definitely not a 'toy'. But quite 'nice'.
