Setting sail

We add sails to kayaks with some mixed results

A great kayaking adventure is a circumnavigation of Nootka Island. The most common route is counter-clockwise to take advantage of the prevailing northwest winds down the exposed outer coast of the island.

But imagine this scenario. You’re ready to leave your campsite in the shelter of Nootka Sound in the Spanish Pilot Group before rounding the island. A calm morning is forecast. So this becomes the plan: take advantage of the calm weather, run the island clockwise, camp in the safety of Nuchatlitz that night, explore the area the next morning then use the afternoon inflow winds to sail down Esperanza Inlet.

Literally. Sail down the inlet.

If it seems like a cheat to sail, keep in mind this 166-km trip had to be completed in less than 72 hours. It was an aggressive agenda, and a 20-km free ride was not just pleasant but a major factor in completing the trip.

Purists will no doubt scoff at even considering a sail for a kayak, as the whole point is to paddle. If you want a sailboat, they do make those. But just as they make surf kayaks to fill the role normally played by surfboards, adding a sail to a kayak can add a whole new dimension to the kayaking experience.

It can also be a great tool. Here’s an example. There’s a wonderful picnic area on the far end of a lake. It’s your reasonable day’s limit just to get there, making it a two-day trip. But the prevailing afternoon winds blow down the lake back to the launch site. So instead of paddling back you sail back, allowing an otherwise impossible day trip by leaving in the morning before the winds rise then riding them back.

That sort of a plan is apt to go astray, of course, as winds are highly variable and generally unpredictable, especially as prevailing conditions don’t prevail near as often as you might like. As an example, the first test of one of these sails was to be the final quarter of a circumnavigation of Nigei Island off the top end of Vancouver Island. Mid-afternoon, hitting Goletas Channel, the hope of taking advantage of the ever-present westerlies in Goletas faded when the wind didn’t materialize, which turned the day into a 55-km slog instead of 36 km of paddling and a free ride back. When is it ever dead calm in Goletas Channel in the mid afternoon? A: The time you plan to use a sail, it turns out.

We tested three sails in a variety of conditions to get a feel for how they perform, and this is what we found.

RapidUp Sail by Advanced Elements

This is a simple down-wind sail system designed by Advanced Elements for its line of inflatable kayaks, but which thanks to a system of tethers can fit almost any kayak with sufficient deck rigging. Simply clip it on.

We found one fairly serious disadvantage for our layup. We couldn’t clip all the connections single-handedly while in the kayak. Either it has to be in place before you launch or a buddy will have to help clip you in. We simply couldn’t reach far enough forward to clip in on our own. Part of the reason is because the RapidUp sail will curve considerably when set into place, meaning a placement fairly far forward on the deck for the outermost clips, and out of reach of a person in the cockpit.

It works by simply catching the breeze in front of your kayak. It arrives in a case triple-folded, then pops open thanks to a flexible but sturdy frame. If you need to lower it, just pull the guy line and it drops down. If you need to stow it, it can be folded down quickly and zipped back in the pack. Folding it is tricky the first few times, but once mastered poses no problem.

Designed for the fairly wide Advanced Elements inflatables, the stowing size doesn’t work particularly well for sea kayaks. When in its case we found it a couple of inches too wide to snap under deck rigging, or to comfortably place in the cockpit or stow in a hatch. In other words, transport is an issue.

AE users won’t have that problem, but they may notice this. When deployed, the design is such that it sits flush to the deck directly in front of the kayaker, which means a good deal of the wind is blocked. A good feature is the amount of clear plastic that leaves relatively unobstructed views ahead. But for performance, running side by side with the KayakSailor, it quickly lagged. I’d credit this with the lower placement on the deck and the fairly rudimentary sail design, which is about as basic as you can get: just unfold, set and let whatever wind hits it propel you forward. But that and its durability are perhaps its strong points as well. Your frustration quotient will be correspondingly low.

Adventure by WindPaddle Sails

Another downwind-only option, this simple design features a few key differences from other sails that result in great performance. It has a similar pop-up and fold-down system to the RapidUp Sail where when stashed it’s a flat circle of round material, but sized so it can be stashed on your deck under the bungy cords. This is a key frustration-saving feature: when employed we could grab it, fold it into two smaller loops then drop it down onto the third loop, slide it under the bungy cord, and so go from employed to stowed in a few simple movements taking just seconds. No worries about even having to adjust the connections. The two ties for use when deployed also lash it in place for extra security when stashed, and so require no fussing to go from deployed to stashed and back.

When stowed the impact is minimal. It won’t work with a deck bag, but otherwise it won’t affect paddle strokes or performance. Another key feature.

The frame is a stiff plastic batten that is virtually unbreakable. It deploys quickly, so watch your face, and expect one or two good cuffs upside the head as it pops open before you learn its habits, then a few more over the course of the season as you forget what you’ve learned.

It fastens to any deck bungy cords with just two clips. These in turn are attached to lines that rig the sail. Because of this the sail is essentially free-floating, and when engaged with wind it sits up a few inches off the deck. It also fills with air rather than sits rigid, which again helps performance. In fact, in a side-by-side with the KayakSailor running downwind, it kept pace.

While a downwind sail only, the WindPaddle can accommodate a fair bit of side wind and still benefit the kayaker with some forward thrust (after more than about 30 degrees, though, it becomes questionable whether the sail will maintain the hold of the wind, as often on a side wind the wind will shift a bit and the sail will invert).

In a good downwind it flies, and gusts only help performance. There’s no pushing to the side to upset balance. When it gets a good gust it tends to bob up and down as if energized like an eager dog pulling a leash, and you can feel the kayak being pulled forward. It’s exhilarating, but beware of spoiling yourself. The ease and speed might leave you disappointed when you actually have to paddle again. And that’s not a good thing. So don’t forget to reconnect to the harmony of your paddle after using the sail.

If I had a single suggestion to improve it, it might be the window, which could either be larger or lower, as in most conditions when fully deployed the horizon will be blocked. I was also left wondering how to best manage the sheet, or guide line (shown above simply being held). A convenient method that allows paddling is a carabiner on your PFD, with the caveat that clipping yourself to your kayak is not the greatest safety step. Simply holding it is no great burden, but that does stop you from being able to paddle along while sailing.

I have yet to try this option, but when the opportunity arises it will be fun: running the WindPaddle sail between two kayaks. Imagine drifting downwind, watching the scenery pass in close company with your partner, maybe having lunch on the water while the miles pass by. It’s relaxing just thinking about. The design of two latches makes this extremely simple, with the benefit of nobody in front of the sail.

Probably best for that purpose is the Cruiser sail, the largest of the WindPaddle fleet with a 56-inch diameter when deployed – about 50 percent more power than our tester, the Adventure, which has a deployed diameter of 42 inches. The entry-level option is the Scout, which has the same sail size as the Adventure, but with a softer batten making it a design best for recreational solo kayaks.

KayakSailor by Kuvia LLC

The KayakSailor is a remarkable piece of engineering that essentially transforms your kayak into a sailboat capable of upwind sailing. But before considering that to be an endorsement, ask yourself if you should just get a small sailboat instead of rerigging your kayak into a hybrid.

The KayakSailor aims for the hybrid through a fairly sophisticated design that initially sits flush on the deck but with a mast that through rigging can be raised and lowered along a track and kept in place by a forestay and shroud (be sure to brush up on your nautical terms). Stability is provided through two leeboards that can be raised and lowered thanks to two push rods. Once employed, the sail is every bit the sail of a sailboat. Use the main sheet to control the angle of the sail and off you go.

While many people may see the sail as an exciting new dimension to the kayaking experience, others won’t like it a bit. Consider that normally a kayaker must pay careful attention to keeping the center of gravity in line to stay upright. But when you sail with the wind at an angle, to offset the thrust against the sail you have to lean out. Add wind gusts and wind waves and you’re constantly having to adjust your balance. This does not make for a relaxing experience of sitting back and enjoying the free ride of the downwind sails. To the contrary, you are put constantly on edge, literally and emotionally. The worst (no doubt for us newbies) is when the wind comes up above your comfort level. The halyard and mast control lines need to be dropped to get the sail down. This means putting down your paddle in conditions you may want to be ready to brace. Fumble with the rigging at your peril when caught like this.

And be prepared to fuss. A regular issue in raising the sail is having the shroud caught around the leeboard control knob. That hung up the whole system.

When not employed, the KayakSailor may lower relatively flush against the deck, but it’s not out of the way. The leeboards offer a subtle interference to paddling, while the leeboard push rods are always on the foredeck, right where the sprayskirt latches.

If the true advantage of the KayakSailor is the ability to sail upwind, consider that you’ll have to tack back and forth, meaning lots of extra miles. Given that a lot of speed is lost by going upwind, it is highly unlikely you’ll get anywhere upwind faster than paddling against the wind by staying near the protection of shore. In other words, you’ll want to sail for the sake of sailing or else there really is no reason for the KayakSailor.

Sure, you can paddle while sailing, which is almost a necessity anyway to help with bracing against gusts. But the sail does get in the way of a good paddle stroke. In my final test of the KayakSailor, I took it down to return home, as a good and efficient stroke was ultimately faster, less stressful and in the end more enjoyable – not an assessment to overjoy Kuvia, but then I am a paddler, not a sailor. And therein lies the ultimate curse of this design. Small sailboats don’t favor a kayak hull design for a reason. They don’t make good sailboats – nor, necessarily, do paddlers make good sailors!

Kayak sailing: what our tests found

The single biggest problem in testing these sails was finding windy days. As odd as that would seem here on Vancouver Island, we were continually stymied, even one day heading out to the remote lighthouse Entrance Island off Gabriola Island in search of a reported 11 knots, only to bob about in dead calm when we got near. Which is an example of the central flaw: the wind won’t necessarily blow where you want, when you want in the direction you want. So you can never plan a trip that will rely on a sail. Doing so risks inciting the wrath of the wind gods. And we all know how they like to have fun with kayakers as it is.

Also, sails fundamentally change the style of travel. For instance, in inlets using inflow winds you’ll want to run the main wind funnel through the channel. So instead of the calm shoreline you’ll be potentially dead center of a wide channel. Reduced visibility also requires greater shoreline clearance. Both these can put you into motorized traffic, so imagine my surprise sailing Tahsis Narrows only to look back and see a large fishing vessel patiently trundling behind me. To his credit he could have pushed past, which would have been a wake-up call. Faster motorboats are rarely so considerate.

One incidental advantage is greater visibility for kayaks, but expect to attract attention from passing boaters who simply want to answer the question: what the heck is that thing? So if you use a sail, get used to being a bit of an oddity. You won’t sail past unnoticed.

A kayak sail can be a useful tool, but it is vastly superior if easily deployed and stashed. Anything more (or less) simply takes away from paddling. And who wants that?