Kayak Sailing and strange boat building projects

Getting the Rx2 from car roof rack to the water

2011-10-02T20:57:00.001+01:00

I have just purchased this kayak trolley in the hope I can use it for my boat. I needed one anyway for my Scupper Pro kayak as my home made one is getting a little unreliable.

My plan is to add a couple of extending lugs off the transom of the boat with a suitable size hole in each of them to take the trolley prongs.

If this works it will be a low cost and easy way to transport the Rx2 from my car roof rack to the water.

I should have the rest of the modifications on my boat completed in a couple of weeks (larger dagger board and rudder plus more free board up front) and am looking forward to my second trial at Wimbleball lake.

First time on the water for the Rx2

2011-09-24T16:40:00.015+01:00

I couldn't resist trying my boat out on the water to see what did and didn't work, so I went up to Wimbleball lake with my good friend John to get the Rx2 wet!

Before rigging up I floated her on the water to test stability. I was very pleased with the result, not tippy and in fact quite a stable platform. As I suspected I could have done with an extra foot in length and also building up the gunwales in front of the mast. (She is actually only 9 foot long.)

Anyway, we rigged her up and I tried a first sail. Immediately it was apparent the rudder and dagger board were not large enough, I had suspected this might be the case but as I had them lying around I thought it was worth trying them. I also need to move the dagger board back a little to counter act a serious tendency to weather helm.

Although I was not able to sail her due to the extreme weather helm this is something that is easily rectified. Overall I was fairly pleased with my test and I have a very clear idea of what needs to be done before the second attempt.

To do:

Build up gunwale in forward of the mast
Use a bigger rudder (I already have one I can use from a previous project)
Build a larger dagger board

A previous build - the Rx1

2011-09-06T18:20:00.000+01:00

The picture to the left is of a sailing skiff I built a few years back (Rx1). Unfortunately I didn't really do enough development work on it and so didn't do it justice.

I had planned to add small buoyancy pods to make sailing upright in light winds easier but after some rudder problems I moved onto another project. I really must try to stick with one thing!!

The hull was made from closed cell foam (XPS) reinforced with ply and fibre glass. The outrigger frame was very light, made from 1.6mm aloy tubing.

I put my latest skiff build on the weighing scales the other day and it came in at 18Kg. By the time I have finished I expect the hull weight to come in at around 20Kg. A Laser Pico weighs 60Kg so it is quite a light hull.

Kayak Sailing Today

2011-09-03T19:11:00.004+01:00

I was planning to work on my sailing skiff today but after checking the conditions last night, weather and tide was perfect for a bit of kayak sailing. I got my gear out of the garage and headed for Exmouth.

I normally like to sail off the sea front and zap along the coast but as the tides were right I went to what is locally known as the duck pond and set off up the estuary towards Starcross and Lympstone.

I had a fantastic time and was sailing at quite a speed, burying the amas frequently.

I find that every time I go out on my sailing kayak I always think of modifications I can do to improve the current design, making modifications is almost as much fun as the actual sailing for me.

Anyway, it was a fantastic morning. For anyone wanting a cheap way of getting out sailing on the open water I would definately recommend kayak sailing. If you want a bit more info on this type of rig, see me kayak sailing web site.

The use of styrofoam for my sailing skiff

2011-08-31T23:22:00.003+01:00

To build my pocket rocket sailing skiff I am using two different types of foam. For the hull shape I am using polystyrene (Also known as EPS - Expanded polystyrene) sandwiched between 3.2mm plywood. For the hull sides I shall be using styrofoam (also known as XPS - Extruded Polystyrene)

It is important to understand their different qualities in a build.

Polystyrene is the cheap stuff you can pick up at any DIY store and is invariably white in colour, see pic to the right. It is extremely light however if exposed to water it will absorb water like a sponge! If used carefully I believe it can be successfully used to form the basis of a very light hull. This stuff is used in the manufacture of the type of surfboard called an Epoxy board.

Styrofoam is the other type of foam I shall be using. This is a denser material and is extruded in manufacture giving it a closed cell structure that does not absorb water. I shall be using this foam for the hull sides as it is stronger and I don't need t worry about having a perfect seal against water ingress. The pic below is of some styrofoam board made by Dow chemicals that is typically blue. This can also be picked up at most DIY stores. It is more expensive but I shall not need much of it for my design. Styrofoam is much easier to shape due to its denser nature

Rudder Build

2011-08-28T18:53:00.000+01:00

I have started building the rudder assembly. For the rudder blade I am using an old windsurfer centre board. The pictures show the beginnings of the build. I am using 12mm ply for the rudder stock.

Finding an old windsurfer centreboard to use is pretty easy and it has the advantage of being a better foil than I could shape by hand. The only disadvantage I can see is it will be fairly high aspect ratio meaning it might stall too easily in light winds, it might also be a little on the small side. If it doesn't work well I will make one out of plywood. Time will tell....

First Garden Shuffle

2011-08-27T12:42:00.000+01:00

Even though I haven't built up the side gunwales so the complete boat shape cannot as yet be seen I couldn't resist doing a quick garden shuffle to see how she will look with the rig on. I am pleased with how the dimensions looked.

Using a windsurfer rig I can keep the sail controls to a minimum making the build simpler as there is no need to worry about installing a traveller, kicker, downhaul or outhaul. This also keeps build cost low as windsurf rigs can be picked up quite cheaply.

Check out my Kayak Sailing designs and adventures here

Concept of my Rx2 Sailing Skiff

2011-08-22T21:14:00.000+01:00

Concept of the Rx2:

I am hoping to build a boat that is:

Light Weight
Cheap and easy to build
Fast off the wind!
Simple to sail fast (minimal sail controls)

Everything in boat design is a compromise and I am under no illusion to achieve the above I need to make some serious compromises. I believe the weakest points of this design will be as follows:

Unimpressive upwind performance - Reason: A 10 foot boat with a rudimentary hull profile
Poor handling in bumpy water - Reason: Simple hull shape for an easy build

Here is a first photograph of the prototype I am knocking up, I am using styrofoam and 3.2mm ply to make a light but stiff base hull. I haven't put it on the scales but it is very light! All the rocker is up front with a flat rocker aft to promote early planing.

I still need to add the raised gunwales so this doesn't give a clear picture of the final shape.

Check out my kayak sailing adventures here!

Hatching of a Plan - My Rx2 Sailing Skiff

2011-08-22T08:59:00.000+01:00

For a while now I have been toying with an idea to build a lightweigt easy to live with, low cost sailing skiff that anyone with a bit of DIY knowledge could build.

I have started building the prototype and will use this blog to give progress reports. In the mean time check out my web site for info on my kayak sailing interests

Here is a planing catamaran I built a few years back, it was fast off the wind but was a little too fiddly to assemble and heavier than I had anticipated. That being said it was great fun to sail and I would still like to develop the idea of such a cat in the future.