When I took my new setup out into winds of 10+ knots for the first time, it became painfully obvious that I would need some sort of outriggers to stay upright in those conditions. With a 26" beam and a 17" wide seat, I just couldn't shift my weight - 145 lbs. - to windward enough.

Though I hadn't planned on using the EasyRider crossbar for outriggers, I quickly realized that they would make a solid and convenient base for the akas. As I needed to stow the outriggers below deck when not in use, I settled on  inflatable Hobie Sidekick outriggers. To attach them, I simply cut the ends of the Hobie crossbar (just over an inch wide), wrapped Gorilla tape around them, and inserted them into each aka. I could now easily install the outriggers on the water by orally inflating them, inserting the aka ends into my EasyRider crossbar, and securing the akas with clevis pins, all in about 3 minutes.

To strengthen the joint between aka and the Hobie crossbar end piece, I inserted a ¾" piece of polyethylene rod into the hollow male plastic (!) end of each aka tube. I also added stainless steel shims that slide over the joint and are held in place by wraps of duct tape around the aka tube.

With the outriggers installed, my Scupper Pro became a stable and safe sailing platform in winds up to 20 knots.

Seat:

For paddling, I had always used a flexible, low-back paddling seat that allowed for full range of motion in the torso.  It did however not provide enough back support for sitting motionless in the same position for hours on end. Unlike a canoe, my kayak did not allow me to shift position much or at all, a serious concern for long-distance sailing on the same tack. To improve ergonomics and comfort, I therefore added a second, more rigid high-back seat, a Surf to Summit GTS Elite.

Rudder

One final improvement I made was to switch to a larger rudder blade, the Feathercraft double rudder blade (~ 20" x 5"). It significantly improved the weather helm I was experiencing and generally provided better control and tracking. Though still not large by sailing canoe standards, the blade is a very good match for my kayak sail rig.

Sailing performance

Performance was not up to par by sailing canoe standards. Lacking a rigid mast (EasyRider sail) or rigid standing rigging (PA sail), my 25-foot hybrid sail plan did not generate the same power as a traditional sail plan. Nor did the undersized leeboard provide quite enough lateral resistance in higher wind conditions. As a result, reaching performance was only decent and upwind performance practically nil.

Yet, the setup proved to be well-suited for my purposes. To begin with, I was first and foremost a kayaker. Though I was not immune to the magic of sailing, I was even more addicted to the endorphin rush of long-distance paddling (not unlike that experienced by marathon runners).  My motto was, and still is, not "Sail when you can, paddle when you must,” but rather "Paddle when you can, sail when you must."

   More importantly, I felt that performance was good enough to make it safely to Catalina island. The strength of my sail plan lay in its versatility. It allowed me to sail safely on a beam reach and even slightly closer to the wind (~75 degrees) through the open ocean for 10+ miles at a speed of 3-5 mph in most conditions; it allowed me to sail safely downwind with my kayak, fully loaded, in most conditions; and it allowed me to paddle-sail comfortably over long distances in winds as little as 5 mph. Neither the sails nor the leeboard interfered with my paddle stroke. And if the wind died or never came up, I could strike (and stow) both sails in a jiffy and use just the paddle. The leeboard could either be rotated out of the way or be quickly stowed below deck.

One small fly in the ointment was that the 1.5 m PA sail was to some extent wind-blocked by the EasyRider spinnaker. This somewhat diminished the power of the 1.5 PA sail on a beam reach, but within acceptable limits. The PA sail still added considerable power. The one-meter PA sail was blocked hardly at all, but worked best in winds above 10 mph. Interestingly, the best point of sail with both sails set was slightly upwind, as this seemed to minimize blockage.

I was at times tempted to make a new, larger leeboard and/or a rigid mast for my main sail that would enable me to carry a jib to improve upwind performance.  But in the end, I felt that the benefits would not outweigh the added complexity, weight and size. My Catalina trip would show that my intuitions were correct.

Next month: The circumnavigation begins.

---