Rule No. 1 - always wear your PFD. I don't compromise on that. Plus I'm adding lots of floatation to the boat as I don't think it will float if it goes over with all that extra rig. Just to make sure I can retrieve a possible sunken boat, I'll attach a 50' line with a Clorox float on the end. Good locator.

I appreciate the love of wood and such. I built a lovely 17' runabout twenty years ago. Lots of varnished mahogany, dark green topsides with a whit bottom. Beautiful.

Nowadays I don't have the time to put into the maintenance. I just want an auxiliary source of propulsion for canoe tripping around here in the Northwest. The less I need to attend to aesthetics, the better.

Honestly, I don't know the size of sail I have. I DO know it's bigger than the typical 44 lateen rig. Much bigger. The foot is about the same length but the height is at least 5' above the 7' masthead. I may be way off but I think it may be closer to 66 sq ft.

I'm sure the learning curve will be steep. If it's too steep, I get wet. With two XL guys in the canoe, there's a good chance we won't capsize until we get so confident that we do something stupid. I already told my buddy that there won't be any touring under sail til we are VERY good at reading this boat. Util then, it's practice in the local mud puddle.