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Kayak
Sailing with the Drifter Phillip Dang of Hui Wa'a Kaukahi, Honolulu's Kayak Club, shares his unique sailing rig. Here are pictures of my drifter kayak outfitted with a home made "miniaturized" sloop sail rig, with a fiberglass rudder and dagger boards. Average speed is about 4.5 mph with a 20 mph wind. Like any sail boat, it is capable of running 45 degrees to the wind. With the relatively wide beam of the Drifter kayak... no side pontoons are necessary for stability. How I did it:
As for the construction of the sail assembly.....it is primarily made of 1" PVC tubing.....with a 3/4" wooden dowel inserted for rigidity, stainless steel pulleys and other marine hardware, stainless steel wire for the jib, dacron rope for the guy supports, remnants of an old windsurfer sail....cannibalized to make my jib and mail sail. The mast is approx 8 feet in length. |
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 The
rudder is made of several layers of fiberglass cloth made into a flat
sheet.approx 1/4" thick.......then cut with a saber saw to resemble
the shape of a rudder. The same process is made with the two side
dagger boards. There is a close-up of the pulley rope system showing
the ropes that control the jib and main sail......all controlled at
one convenient control console. Actually the jib (larger of the two
sail) does most of the work. Like any regular sailboat.........it
can tack 45 degrees to the wind and any direction aft. Since the drifter
has a width of 34"...it is very stable in the water....making
it unnecessary to use external pontoons. I've sailed in 30 mph winds
will good stability. |
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