 Feathercraft Java &
Pacific Action Sail
by Duncan Sayers
Background
I have
been the proud owner of a for a number of months now, and am pleased
to say that it has exceeded all my expectations. To put things in
persepective, I previously owned a fiberglass hardshell sea kayak.
Due to a house move, and subsequent loss of storage space I had
to rethink my kayak setup.
This
led to the purchase of the Java. I considered many different types
of folding boat, and settled on the Java for its simplicity (read
speed) of assembly, an important consideration because I am unable
to keep the kayak assembled at home.
Note
that I have no affiliation with either Feathercraft, or Pacific
Action, other than using their products.
Assembly
This
would be much faster if it wasn't for the attention the boat gets
when I'm putting it together. However if I'm left alone, I can generally
assemble the boat from car boot to water in around 15-20 minutes.
Likewise for disassembly. One thing to note though is that it can
be a bit of a pain to dry, as there are lots of nooks and crannies
in the fabric for water to linger. Other than that, it's not much
more effort than lugging a hardshell boat on and off roof racks.
Performance
The
Java is slower than my previous boat, which is to be expected (it's
shorter, wider and floppier). One thing I have noticed however,
is that as the conditions deteriorate, the speed difference is less
noticable due to the stability of the Java. I'm able to concentrate
more on forward movement, and less on staying upright. My previous
boat was a 16ft long Selkie, which is a pretty quick boat, but a
horrible thing to paddle with a following sea, even with the retractable
skeg down. Its fine bow had a habit of catching when surfing, causing
the boat to act rather unpredictably. In contrast, the Java seems
to behave very reasonably, which is why in rough conditions it is
a pleasure to paddle. It is noticably slower into a headwind than
my old boat, but on any other point, it has much better manners.
Another bonus is the confidence that if you push it too far and
end up in the drink, you're easily able to hop back on again without
mucking about having to roll. Note that I've never actually tipped
the Java other than on purpose to make sure I could get back on.
I reckon you'd have to do something pretty crazy to end up swimming
by accident.
Because
I haven't had the chance to paddle any other sea kayaks in rough
conditions, this isn't by any means a comprehensive comparison.
However given my limited experience with other boats, I'm more than
happy with the way the Java performs. There are always compromises
with any design - the Java seems to have plenty of good features
to make up for those inherent in its configuration.
Comfort
Ah,
bliss...no more dead legs! The Java is amazingly comfortable, and
if you do feel the need to stretch your legs, you have the room
to do so (or hop in for a swim). I'm now much happier to spend longer
times in the Java than my old boat. I suspect that this will also
reduce the performance gap between the Java and my old boat over
long distances, due to less fatigue caused through discomfort.
Sailing
I wanted
a sail that could mount well forward, so that it would overcome
the natural tendancy to weather helm, enabling me to sail without
a rudder. I discovered the New Zealand made Pacific Action sail via
their website. I thought this looked promising, mounting the sail
on the exposed sections of frame near the bow. First I checked with
Feathercraft to see if the webbing loops sewn into the deck of the
Java would be strong enough for a 1 square metre sail - they confirmed
promptly that this would be ok. I then emailed Pacific Action, and
after a bit of conversation describing the problem they offered
to make a slight customisation for me to help mount the sail, at
no extra charge. They also have a "satisfaction guarantee" which
gave me the confidence to order it online.
*Note:
The problem with the Pacific Action Sail is that it needs a spacing
of a minimum of 35 cm between the attachment points on the hull.
Normally this is ok, but the only solid place to strap it to on
the java is to the frame, which is narrower than this. Part of the
reason for the width requirement is that in it's normal configuration
the pacific action mast base has a webbing buckle on either side.
In order to narrow the width required between attachment points,
Pacific Action made me a single strap with a single buckle. As it
turned out, this still wasn't narrow enough, which prompted me to
make the mounting plate you can see in the pictures.
The
sail arrived a couple of weeks later, and after a bit of mucking
about trying to mount it, I ended up making a small plate cut out
from a plastic chopping board to run the mounting straps through,
and subsequently around the frame. This spread the mount points
wide enough to get the tension required for the system to work correctly.
It also gave the added bonus of preventing the deck mount from chafing
the deck fabric.
The
only other modification was to buy some larger snap clips than those
supplied in order to be able to attach the sheets and shock-cord
forestay to the deck webbing loops on the Java. It should be noted
that the masts supplied are designed to split in half, so the whole
assembly can pack with the boat into the bag supplied with the Java.
When
not in use, the tops of the masts tuck under the straps that secure
the seat to the deck:
Release
the sail from the strap, and it springs into life thanks to the
shock-cord forestay:
On
the water
Shhh...don't
tell the government. This is so much fun, they'd make it illegal
if they found out. The photos are taken on a calm day (around 10
knots), but I've had the sail up in around 15-20 knots and there
are only two words to describe it - giddy up!
 
The
boat sails brilliantly without the need for a rudder, only using
the retractable skeg that comes standard with the Java and the occasional
stern-rudder corrective stroke. It can be sailed on all points of
sail from a dead run through to a reach, even moving through to
a shy reach as the apparent wind angle moves forward slightly as
you speed up. There is enough clearance to allow you to paddle and
sail at the same time. Downwind it is possible to steer the boat
using the sail only, by tweaking the sheets to adjust the sail's
angle to the wind. In a decent blow, I hook my towline onto my lifejacket
to avoid having the boat sail off into the distance without me after
a spill, although I haven't managed to ditch yet (perhaps I'm not
trying hard enough).
Related
articles:
Pacific
Action Sails Revisited by Robert O. Hess
Kayak
Sailing with a Vee Sail by Tom Holtey
"Go
Sail A Kite" How-to Article by Tom Holtey
We
also recommend:
Our
Kayak Sailing Section - Index to all Kayak Sailing Articles
on our site.
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