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BAMBOO AS MAST AND SPARSTHE 16X30 SAILING CANOE, A FAST AND NIMBLE SAILER

CANOE SAILING CIRCA 1886ED KATTEL’S SIMPLE C-CLASS RIGTHE WAHINES OF MOA “E” KUA PERFORMANCE SAILING KAYAK PROJECTROLLIN THURLOW - NORTHWOODS CANOE COMPANY

VOL 1 NUMBER 1

INSIDE SKINNY HULL...

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Skinny Hull Canoe and Kayak Sailing Magazine is a new format and newname for Canoe Sailing Magazine. The articles you see in some of these firstissues are ones we published in Canoe Sailing Magazine. Since many of you haveasked for archived articles this is an opportunity to share those with you in anupdated format. We hope you like it. As we get more new articles in you will seenew material mixed in with the old.

The primary reason we are pulling out all the stops and putting in the effort tocreate a better, more inclusive publication for you is because I believe the globalcommunity of canoe and kayak sailors is just that: a community, a universalwaterside village of folks who love and take pleasure from sailing their skinny-hulled boats.

Skinny Hull will bring you articles and features not just about sailing canoesand kayaks, but also Pacific Islandboats, Chesapeake log canoes and mostevery other type of small sail boat thathas a skinny hull.

Canoe Sailing Magazine, and nowSkinny Hull, is your—our—communitymagazine reflecting our communal

interests. Because ofthat, each and every oneof you is welcome tocontribute articles,photographs, stories andyes, even maybe a littlemoney, to help thiscommunity magazineserve us all.

For those of you whoenjoy our forum, The

Rudder, it will stillbe available whereit always hasbeen, in the old Canoe Sailing site (http://canoesailingmagazine.com) which will become a blog thatwe will update on a (somewhat) regular basis with newsand events and late-breaking information.

We look forward to your feedback and welcome you towrite us at editor@canoesailingmagazine.com.

For those of you who want to participate in this maga-zine, we will have writers’ and photographers’ guidelinesavailable for you in every issue.

Thanks again for reading Canoe Sailing Magazine. Welook forward to serving you in the new Skinny Hull Canoeand Kayak Sailing Magazine!

Ed Maurer, Publisher

Skinny Hull covers the world ofsailing canoes & kayaks,Chesapeake log canoes, proasand all sorts of skinny-hulledsailing boats. We’re published onthe shores of the Gulf of Mexicoin Dunedin, Florida.

Editor & PublisherEdward C. Maurer

Contributing Writers:John SummersSteve ClarkDan ReiberTerry Galpin

Contact:editor@canoesailingmagazine.com(727) 798-2366

A publication of Edward MaurerConsulting, LLC. Copyright 2011 Allrights reserved.

Actions, activities, building,modification, travel, techniques, etc.seen within are examples of whatothers do and participate in andshould only be carried out byqualified individuals. The outcomeof your activities remain your ownresponsibility. Properly wear and useall safety equipment. If you’re afraidof the water, stay away from it.

What's Inside?

BUILDING & REPAIRBAMBOO AS MAST AND SPARSTHE 16X30 SAILING CANOEA PERFORMANCE SAILING KAYAK PROJECT

PRODUCT REVIEWCOLUMBIA DRAINMAKER SHOES

HISTORICALCANOE SAILING CIRCA 1886

RACINGED KATTEL’S SIMPLE C-CLASS RIG

PACIFIC ISLAND BOATSTHE WAHINES OF MOA “E” KU

FEATURED BUILDERROLLIN THURLOW - NORTHWOODS CANOECOMPANY

WRITERS AND PHOTOGRAPHERS GUIDELINES

FRONT COVER: CARROL A.T. - 55 SQ FT LATEENSAIL RIG FOR A WOOD AND CANVAS CANOE, THE17 FT ATKINSON TRAVELER, BUILT BY ROLLINTHURLOW’S NORTHWOODS CANOE COMPANY

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huhorton@gmail.com

BAMBOO AS MAST AND SPARSThe publisher’s low-down on bamboo and how tomake it into sparsEd Maurer, Dunedin, Florida

After going through all the work of building my sharpie, thelast thing I was in the mood for was building the mast andspars. From the beginning of the project, I had it in mind touse only materials historically available in Florida, since Iwanted to emulate a vessel that may have been built here. Itmay seem like a silly notion, but there you have it.

I had the same issue when I built my canoe sailing rig—Ijust didn’t want to gothrough making myown spars. What Ifound then was curedtimber that had beencut by the power com-pany when clearinglines. I found a piecethat would make agood mast and twomore as spars for mylateen, though theyhad some intriguing“personality” of theirown by way of knotsand gentle bends inseveral directions.However, all threeworked like champsand required only alittle woodworking andvarnish. Hard to beatthe look of grownspars!

Then I “discovered”bamboo. I knew fromthe beginning it would

be good to use, but at the time I didn’t have the patience tolearn more about it and find a source. I’ve overcome all thatnow.

Bamboo has a number of benefits and, for canoe sailingpurposes, only a few drawbacks. First—the drawbacks: It isn’tuniversally available, but you’ll see many types generally are,and it can’t be worked into a double taper like solid wood and it

BUILDING & REPAIR

The pine tree spars worked great, even with their free-form shape.

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probably shouldn’t be drilled through, unless reinforced.Now, benefits…I’ll keep this short as well…Bamboo is

cheap, it’s already round, it’s already tapered, it is very lightand very strong, it has natural flotation chambers, it’s easy towork, it flexes and almost never snaps, and (maybe the mostimportant attribute) it makes great looking spars.

Now, not all bamboo is created equal. While many areuseful for our purposes, some are too weak and should beavoided. One source, The Bamboo Fencer, http://www.bamboofencer.com, has a sailor on staff who can helpyou select the culms—the bamboo stems—proper for yourapplication. During my research, I learned a lot from their site,which is why I’ve included them here, as well as the followingexcerpt:

“We invite you Chinese rig sailors to return to the betterway and save your back on the halyard, have less weight aloft,improve the sailing quality of the boat, and return to nature….We use the best bamboo we can get for the job. It is the superhard and strong temperate bamboo Phyllostachys nigra‘Henon’.”

I believe the most important consideration you must havewhen choosing what species to use is to either know specifi-cally what you want, or deal with bamboo dealers who under-stand your needs. From what I’ve found, most dealers have anintimate knowledge of their product and should be able to helpyou, though dealing with fellow sailors helps!

Let’s discuss the drawbacks of bamboo, and how to work with them, before we moveon to the benefits. Bamboo doesn’t grow everywhere, but, remarkably, it is found grow-ing wild in many cold climates, and many cold-weather bamboo growers and dealershave successfully cultivated crops. Of course, one can always buy bamboo and have itshipped. I would suggest finding a source and speaking with them about your needsdirectly so both sides have an understanding of the application and limitations of theproduct.

Unlike spars made out of lumber, bamboo can’t be tapered to fit through a mastpartner without an oversized hole. As you see in my photo, the partner is leathered andwedges are employed to brace the mast, which is not uncommon. The mast step is

bored to snugly accept the foot.Avoid the temptation to mountthe hollow foot over a pin—it willlead to splitting.

I wouldn’t recommend drillingthrough unreinforced bamboo.Since bamboo’s strength is longi-tudinal, with almost no cross-grain stability, a hole can lead toa lengthwise crack that couldcause failure. If it maintains its

integrity, bamboo will flex a lot without failure.I employ two methods to overcome this prob-lem—lashing and reinforcement. As you see inthis masthead photo, my halyard tackle (okay,it’s just a bronze ring, but what the heck), islashed in place. This is best done on the oppo-site side of a node—the rigid portion seen as aring separating the hollow sections—because itwill provide a friction point and stop for yourlashing. Of course, any good lashing that ispulled toward the bottom—the larger diameterpart of the culm—will automatically tighten asit does so.

The second method—reinforcement—I have done two ways. In the mast base photosyou will note I have added a bamboo collar to both reinforce that section and have aplace for screw-mounting hardware. The collar is made from a little larger diametersection of this culm that has been split to fit over the section, then glued and itselfreinforced with two thin bronze rods wrapped around it and secured in place. The hard-ware screws act in shear—which means they are pulled sideways instead of straight

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out—and just barely penetrate themast itself. It’s not the strongestarrangement, but more than ad-equate for this application. If astronger mount where needed, thecollar could be made of wood ormetal. The point is to avoid drillingholes in the unreinforced spar ormast itself. Which leads to:

The second method I use, seen inthe boom and spar photos—the in-sertion of solid wood pieces into theculm. The sprit spar end uses a hard-wood dowel deeply inserted andglued in place. The plug is drilled toaccept the snotter rope. The boomend also has a wood plug, but Ichose to cut it flush. This, too, has a hole drilled through the plug through which myouthaul passes. Note in both cases, holes are through the wood, not the bamboo alone,and stress is in shear, or pulling in-line with thespar.

Now,the advan-tages: thisstuff ischeap, evenif you haveit shipped toyou. Consid-ering thatit’s alreadyshaped andrequiresonly mini-mal work to put it to use, it’s much cheaper thanbuilding your own spars.

Bamboo’s very light and very strong for itsweight. Again, from The Bamboo Fencer: “Thepoles are 2” in diameter, they are first cut andfully dried, cured, and polished. They are stifferthan Sked 80 1.25" aluminum or 1.5" dia. Sked40 aluminum often used on Junk Schooners. Themaximum bow on a 21 foot pole is 3" or less.” Not bad for grass, huh.

Being hollow, bamboo floats as long as you haven’t punched holes through it forwiring, which leads to another benefit—you could punch small holes with a rebar orother long rod and pull wiring for a masthead light. The light mount could take advan-tage of the hollow you leave for it at top, and the battery could be mounted within a

similar hollow at the foot. Add a small switch in the lower side and plug the top andbottom wire holes with sealant, and you have lights to awe your friends with!

As for looks, I have sanded my nodes smooth and varnished all my spars, paintedthe boom end as you see, and it makes for very nice looking rigging. Many spars turnedout of lumber look better painted, but bamboo has a beauty that needs to be seen.

When selecting bamboo, consider the flex of the spar and know that the materialwill flex quite a bit without breaking. If in doubt, once you have discussed your choicewith a dealer, order material that may be a little larger in diameter than you think youneed. Think of it likereefing—if you thinkabout reefing undersailing—then reef.Also buy longer sec-tions than you needso you can trim theculm to length your-self. Once cut, treatthe ends with a seal-ant like epoxy, var-nish or some otherproduct to keep bugsout of it. If you getgreen bamboo, knowthat it could lose upto 20 percent of itsdiameter as it cures,which takes aboutthree to fourmonths. Dry bamboostanding on end inthe shade—you couldhang it in a tree ifyou wanted. Butstore bamboo hori-zontally and out ofthe weather and sun,even if treated. Ikeep my rig hangingin my garage whereit gets plenty ofventilation.

The photos I have here are from my sharpie. I’ve restored my E.M. White-stylecanoe and am refitting it to carry a 50-foot sprits’l I’ll likely convert to a lug or balancedlug. I’ll definitely use bamboo for the new rigging. I’ll also use a bamboo pole for mypush-pull tiller and a pushpole. There’s a lot of value and uses in bamboo, which, asyou know, is just a grass. A grass on steroids, that is!

I built this 16-foot sharpie out of cypress using mostly traditional methods. Instead of acenterboard I employed leeboards, which, if i had it to do over again, I would not. The mast,boom, sprit and jib boom are all out of bamboo and worked flawlessly.

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COLUMBIA DRAINMAKER SHOESGood all-round water shoe for sailing, paddling, or onshore

When I first picked up my Columbia Drainmakers the first impression I got was howlight they are, 10 ounces for a size 12 is beyond light, it’s almost non-existent. In thisday and age where fly rods and reels are marketed for their lightness it’s good find aboat shoe that doesn’t feel like an anchor once it’s wet.

The Drainmaker features a scupper system not unlike a boat or, better yet—a sit ontop kayak. Water gets in but quickly drains through the mesh bottom and out channelsrunning through the sides of the substantial rubber sole. I kept them on when we an-chored just off Dunedin, Florida’s Caladisi Island. While most shoes of any sort would be

soggy and sloshy with water, theDrainmakers were all but dry almostas soon as I left the water. Later,during the boat’s washdown, theshoes drained as quickly as theytook on water. Nice.

On board my boat they were socomfortable and provided such goodtraction I forgot to take them off.Not being a fan of shoes I’m usuallybarefoot when I get to the marina,but these stayed on because, simplyput, I didn’t feel like I was wearingany shoes at all. Just as impor-tantly—the Drainmaker features anon-marring Omni-Grip® Wet Griprubber sole.

As a long time canoe and kayakpaddler and sailor I’ve always wanted a shoe comfortable and effective enough to keepon when I know I’ll have to get out soon. These are them. I often stand when sailingmy canoe and the Drainmaker’s lugged outsole provides great traction for others whostand in their canoes or kayaks. The shoes’ quick draining means you won’t bringnearly so much water on board when you get in at launch like you normally do.

I really like these shoes. They do what Columbia says they’ll do, they’re light (evenin kangaroo size), and they’re reasonably priced.

COLUMBIA DRAINMAKERS FEATURES:• Open cell sandwich mesh upper with translucent TPU toe cap, micro suede eyestayand Techlite™ heel

• Techlite midsole with drainage ports in heel and forefoot• Siped, lugged outsole for extra traction made with Omni-Grip Wet Grip rubber• Weight: Size 9, 1/2 pair =8.85oz/251g

PRODUCT REVIEW

THE 16X30 SAILING CANOE, A FAST AND NIMBLE SAILERTurn-of-the-Century Gilbert Boat Company design updated for S&GconstructionJohn Summers, General Manager, The Canadian Canoe Museum, Peterborough,

Ontario, Canada

Would you like to build and saila unique small boat that will drawadmiring glances wherever youtake it, let you learn new skills inthe workshop and on the waterand make you a better sailor? Ifso, you may be a candidate for the16-30 decked sailing canoe.

Not long after recreationalcanoeists started to paddle theircraft in the 1870s, some addedsails as well. At first, these werean addition to the paddle to beused when the wind was right onlong cruises—“sail when you can,paddle when you must,” they said.Human nature being what it is,however, the canoeists also beganracing each other under sail, andthis led to rapid development inhulls, rigs and hardware. The firstsailing canoes were cruising boatswith sails added, where the sailorsat down in the cockpit. Gettingthe skipper’s weight up on deckallowed more sail to be carried. Anexpert but small-of-stature sailornamed Paul Butler created a slid-ing seat mounted above the deckwhich allowed him to get hisweight even farther out to wind-ward. Along with these changes, cockpits became smaller and side decks wider. Canvasliners were added to make cockpits waterproof in the event of a capsize, and eventuallythe cockpits were completely enclosed and made self-bailing.

By the late 1890s, canoe design had diverged into three main types: decked-overcanoes for racing under sail, all-round cruising canoes for sail or paddle and racingpaddling canoes, each optimized for its particular use. The canvas spread by sailingcanoes grew ever-larger, to more than 120 square feet on some 16 foot hulls, and cap-sizes became a constant feature of competition. By the early 20th century, the Ameri-

BUILDING & REPAIR

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can Canoe Association had formulated a set of rules that governed the dimensions of allclasses of racing canoes, both paddling and sailing. Decked sailing canoes like this onewere most often known as “16-30’s.” Those dimensions (16’ length x 30” beam with 90square feet of sail) were typical for boats built under Rule IV, “Sailing Canoes,” of theclassification system of the American Canoe Association.

A number of these canoes survive in museum collec-tions and private hands, and some have been restoredand are regularly sailed. Some new 16-30s have beenbuilt in recent years too. One such example, a copy ofRalph Britton’s Gilbert-built Tomahawk, was built at theAntique Boat Museum in Clayton, New York, nearly adecade ago. Beautiful to look at, she features the samebatten-seam carvel planking, hollow spruce spars andwide mahogany decks of the original. Like the original,she also leaks, an almost inevitable consequence of along, lightly-built hull subject to strong wracking forcesfrom hard sailing with a big rig and a sliding seat. With aheavy, round-bottomed hull only 30” wide, the boat ischallenging to sail at first, but almost everyone who triedit wanted to get one of their own after their first taste ofthe 16-30 experience. Since most of the original hullswere round-bottomed, a faithful reproduction is a reason-ably complicated proposition, requiring either a fair de-gree of boat building skill or some good check-writingability to pay a builder, and so many who wanted to getinvolved were frustrated. This led directly to the new 16-30 class.

In the early years ofthe 20th century, TheGilbert Boat Companyof Brockville, Ontario,built a number of hard-chine 16-30 canoes forsailors of theGananoque Canoe Club.The boats were con-structed from wideplanks of white cedarand Spanish cedar, withoak framing and bronzeand copper hardwareand fastenings. One ofthese canoes survivesin the collection of Heri-tage Toronto in Toronto,Ontario.

In 2004, I took the

lines from this canoe, andmade a detailed record of itsconstruction and arrangement.Using the lines of the originalhard-chine hull, I re-devel-oped the boat for constructionin the stitch-and-glue tech-nique, keeping the originalhull form but taking advan-tage of the properties of epoxyand plywood to make a stron-ger, lighter boat. The new boatwas also designed to take

advantage of off-the-shelf modernhardware and fittings. The aim of theproject was to revive this fascinatingsmall craft type in an easy-to-buildpackage that captured the spirit ofthe original in modern materials.

I’m admittedly far from objective,but the new 16-30 has met almostall the expectations I had for theproject. The boat is only marginallymore complicated to build than astitch and glue kayak, and couldeasily be created during the winter ina typical garage by someone withmodest woodworking abilities. Depending on fit and finish, the cost will probably be nomore than a new Laser. The slightly wider beam of the original hull (34” vs. a moretypical 30”) combined with the hard chines, produces greater initial stability. I’ve sentmany people out for their first decked canoe sail on both round-bottomed 16-30s andthe new boat, and the new one offers a much more user-friendly way to start sailingdecked canoes. Easily cartopped or pulled on the lightest of trailers, the boat is simpleand robust, and can be rigged and underway in less than 15 minutes from the top ofthe car to the water.

Under way, the 16-30 offers a unique ride. Sensitive to sail trim and body weight,the boat gives you plenty of feedback and teaches you fast. Once you get used to thethwartships tiller and the seat and go through a few tacks, it’s not long before you un-derstand the basic physics of the situation, and not much longer after that will comethe first time you put all the parts together and take off on a fast, end-of-the-seatbroad reach. Capsizes are no big deal. The only real hazard encountered so far is fromrear-end friction. Once you tack, the seat goes all the way out to windward and staysthere until you tack again. In the meantime, all trimming and balancing is done by theskipper moving in and out on the seat. The combination of frequent movement and wet

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JOHN SUMMERS’ PLANS CAN BE PURCHASED DIRECTLY FROM THEANTIQUE BOAT MUSEUM

shorts can lead to a certain tenderness at the end of the day, and helps to explain whysome sliding seat canoes have names like “Rosy Cheeks” and “Sticky Buns.”

The plans package includes 5 sheets of drawings and a comprehensive and well-illustrated building and sailing manual, along with advice, encouragement and techsupport. At least 7 boats have been built so far, and more are underway. 16-30s gathereach year at the Antique Boat Museum’s annual August boat show; Tupper Lake, NY’sNo-Octane Regatta; Chesapeake Bay’s Mid-Atlantic Small Craft Festival and anywhereelse that quality small craft are found. Plans can be ordered on-line from the AntiqueBoat Museum store at www.abm.org. More information about the boat is available fromme at authenticboats@gmail.com and/or Dan Miller sailingcanoe@twcny.rr.com.

Article sponsored by the Antique Boat Museum

CANOE SAILINGCIRCA 1886

The following clippings are froman August 17, 1886 New York Timesarticle that introduced canoe sailingof the time to its readers. Much of thecompetative cane sailing of the daytook place in New York and Canadaon this side of the pond and GreatBritain on the other. There was oftenhotly contested competion betweenthe countries and continents.

Recognizable personalities andboats referred to here includeWarrington Baden-Powell, the fatherof competative canoe sailing in theUS and UK, boat designer McGregor,and famous hulls Nautilus and RobRoy.

Future clippings we bring you willcover aspects of canoe devlopment,cometition and bold trips and adven-tures. Ed.

A Knickerbocker Lake sailing canoe. Not related to this

HISTORICAL

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RACING

ED KATTEL’S SIMPLEC-CLASS RIGSteve Clark, Warren Rhode Island

Ed Kattel was pretty much the God ofopen canoe racing as long as he felt likesailing, and his dimensions are still prettymuch the standard. Attached is a one pagedescription of how Ed Kattel rigged his CClass ,or 5m2, Canoes.

Actually, he cut down the sheer forwardand aft so it was pretty much flat and putdecks on the front and last third of theboat. This made (the boats) self rescuing,although it was entirely possible to drivethe boats hard enough so they swampedfrom all the spray coming aboard. If sailedas aggressively as a Laser in 15+ winds,Elvstrom super maxi bailers really can’tkeep up, so you always have to back off abit or learn to bail while you sailed. At leastwith bulkheads and decks, you didn’t actu-ally go all aglub and could stop and throwwater for a bit and then continue on yourmerry way. The 100% open boats could

reach a point of no return where theyhad such a load aboard they were simplydefeated and had to be rescued.

Also attached (on a following page)are the dimensions of 23 canoes thatcompeted in the 1977 National Champi-onship in Florida.

This isn’t the latest stuff, many of thenewer guys use reinforced windsurfermasts instead of Ed’s sleeved togetheraluminum tubes, and the hulls haveimproved a bit, but any of the more

modern fiberglass canoes is a good place to start, that is if you don’t have a disusedcanoe lurking under the cottage

Doing this stuff to a Royalex canoe requires some messing around with either advancedadhesives or using some mechanical fasteners in ways that might frighten people.

I think this is the essential information that converts any open canoe into a sailingcanoe.

C Class Canoe I designed and built for SusanChamberlain back in 1984

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Which I summarize as follows:-You only need one leeboard.

-You start by placing the leeboard thwart ½ a butt’s width (8-10”) forward of the foreand aft center of the boat.-Put the mast step 32” forward of the center of the leeboard thwart.-Use aluminum tubes or something else to triangulate the mast step and thwart.-Finally, the more you modify an open canoe to be a fully competent sailboat, the lessgood it is for paddling.

Just for the hell of it, I also attach two photos of a C Class Canoe I designed andbuilt for Susan Chamberlain back in 1984 or so which pretty much illustrates the point.

The design was pretty much a paddling canoe shape under water, but the topsidesand deck were all about keeping the water out. There were maximum width gunwalesand, flare in the topsides and the foredeck was cambered like an IC. The sheer was alsohigher in the middle than in the ends, which really threw the traditionalist for a loop. Iguess the fact that all new C Class canoes don’t look like this is a pretty good indicationthat the class didn’t accept this vision. It may also have been due to the fact that Susanmoved to Berkley, CA the summer the boat was finished, and it never sailed a secondregatta. But as far as I could ever figure, it was the only open canoe that could reallyplay in the rough stuff with any sense of security. It really was quite a lot of fun.

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A PERFORMANCE SAILING KAYAK PROJECTOne sailor’s solution to converting a typical kayak into a sailerDan Reiber, Mayfield Village, Ohio

This sailing kayak is aconcept craft, a new breedof outdoor fun. It paddleslike a kayak and sails likea sailboat.

The secret of successis in the way you operateit. You kneel facing for-ward like how you learnedto paddle a canoe in scoutcamp. You sail it in thesame position so you canquickly shift your weightfrom side to side to steerand to compensate forchanges in wind speed.

As with any sailboat,you need to know somesailing basics. With thiscraft, you will also have tolearn how to steer withouta rudder because thiscraft doesn’t have one. Itdoesn’t need one. Steer-ing is not difficult tolearn. I’ll tell you howlater, and show you on myYouTube video.

Here is what I usedand how I assembled it.Modify it to suit yourself.

Equipment Specs:-Kayak - extra stable

sit-on-top, 12 ft long, 32”wide - Crescent Splash II

-A drinking cup recess for holding the base of the mast should be located about 1/4to 1/3 of the way back from the bow. Otherwise, it will be difficult to fabricate amast holder.

-Sail - 30 sq ft, sleeve-type, loose footed, regular battens - Sailrite.com#SQIN4194. Sailrite sends you the kit. You assemble it with a zigzag sewingmachine.

BUILDING & REPAIR

-Mast - 15 ft, fiberglass, tapered, 2-1/8” at base - secondhand sailboard mast-Mast Holder (mast partner Ed.)- 1/2” plywood sheet, PVC pipe, radiator hose clamp

- home made-Boom - 6 ft long, 1” dia aluminum tubing with PVC fittings - home made-Leeboard - symmetrical foil, mahogany, 8.5” wide x 4 ft long 1.3” thick - home

made-Leeboard thwart - oak board, 3-1/2” wide x 35-1/4” long 7/8” thick - home made-Swivel cleat - centered on the

leeboard thwart to control the sail -Ronstan RF67

-Line to control the sail (main sheetEd.)- Dacron or poly, 1/4” dia. about 16 ftlong

-Turning block - located near the sternfor the sail-control line - Harken H082

-Kneeling pads, closed foam - thethicker the better!

-Paddle - standard double blade

Criteria for Choosing a Kayak HullSuitable for Performance Sailing

Look for a sit-on-top, at least 12 ftlong, 30” wide with a drink-cup recess 1/3 back from the bow. Suitable kayaksinclude Ocean Kayak’s Peekaboo, Prowler,Prowler Big Game Angler; Hobie’s Odys-sey; and Mad River’s Synergy 14. I’msure that there are others as well.

Assembly OverviewConversion of a kayak hull to a perfor-

mance sailing kayak requires that youfabricate and install three assemblies: aleeboard thwart that holds a pivotingleeboard used for steering (A leeboard issimilar to a daggerboard, but located onthe side of the craft); a mast holder thatlets you fix the mast rake to balance thesail’s center of effort with the leeboard’scenter of lateral resistance; and akneepad that extends across the cockpit for kneeling comfort.

Assembling the Leeboard ThwartFirst, estimate the correct location of the leeboard in respect to the center of effort

of the sail. My default leeboard position was swept back about 20 degrees from vertical,and my leeboard thwart was located about 16” behind the mast. (photo 2)

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Bolt the leeboard thwart to the kayak using a 1/4” dia stainless steel bolt on eachside of the thwart. First drill a 1.5” access hole adjacent to each bolt location so you cansecure a nut and lock washer. The alternative of using lag screws into a blind hole willprobably fail. Seal the 1.5” dia access holes with duck tape or faucet hole covers.

You will need a strong angle bracket to hold the pivoting leeboard to the thwart. Ihad a machine shop fabricate one from 1/4” stiff aluminum plate. I prefer the bracket

to point down rather than up to put more leeboardunder water.

Assembling the Mast HolderThe mast holder must let you set the mast rake

over a range of about +/- 10 degrees from vertical.The sail’s center of effort must coincide with theleeboard’s center of lateral resistance with theleeboard in the default position. Without this one-timemast-rake adjustment, you will not be able to get thecraft to balance for sailing in a straight line.

My mast-holder bracket was made from a sheet of1/2” plywood, wedged across the kayak and bolted tothe foot recess channels on both sides of the kayak,again using adjacent 1.5” dia holes to access theretaining washers and nuts. I wedged a PVC 3-1/2”dia mast-holder sleeve into the bottom of the drink-cup recess. The top of the sleeve was supported byanother sheet of 1/2” plywood, attached to the otherplywood sheet by 90-degree angle brackets. (photo 3)

The top of the sleeve was adjustable forward andbackward by a pair of aluminum angle-bracket chan-nels, one on each side, with closely spaced holesrunning full length. A 4” pin and radiator clamp holdsthe sleeve in place between the channels. The sleevetop was reduced in diameter to 2-1/4” by a collar tosuit the mast. The sleeve bottom has a knob that fitsinside the base of the mast to anchor it.

SteeringThink of this craft as similar to a sailboard having

no rudder, but a fixed daggerboard. To sail asailboard, you move the mast backward to turn into

the wind (“coming up” Ed.), or forward to turn away from the wind (“falling off” Ed.).This sailing kayak has a fixed mast. To steer, you rotate the leeboard forward to turninto the wind, backward to turn away from the wind, or leave it in a mostly verticalposition for going in a straight line.

To turn 90 degrees thru an oncoming wind (“tacking” Ed.), you rotate the leeboardforward. The boat comes into the wind by turning thru 45 degrees. As you pass directly

into the wind, you rotate the leeboard backward as you letthe boat turn thru an additional 45 degrees to complete the90 degree turn. Then you reset the leeboard for a straightcourse. You shift your weight as needed.

To steer away from the wind (“gybing” Ed.), you rotatethe leeboard backward and lean the boat the opposite waythat you would lean your bike in a turn. Do this until you areheading directly down wind. Then pull the boom across tothe opposite side.

Important: Mast rake and leeboard angle must be inbalance. If you can tack easily but have trouble turningaway from the wind, rake the mast forward. If you havetrouble tacking but can turn away from the wind, rake themast aft. This is an onshore adjustment that must be cor-rect.

Sailing PerformanceI’ve been sailing this craft on a lake in wind speeds un-

der 10 knots. It goes where I want it to go, easily controlledwithout a rudder: up wind, tacking thru 90 degrees as doesa regular sailboat, or away from the wind into a gybe. It is ahoot to sail. Great fun. I can even paddle if the wind dies.

YouTube and BlogFor a sailing video of my Crescent Splash II, search for

Performance Sailing Kayak on YouTube.For my blog on sailing kayaks, visit http://

kayaksailingdesigns.blogspot.com

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THE WAHINES OF MOA “E” KUToughing it out earned respect of new peersTerry Galpin, Kaneohe, Hawaii

Bam! That’s a sound a sailing canoe captain never wants to hear. I look up and ourentire standing rig comes crashing down. Everything – mast, boom, spar, sail, staylines – all down in the water. Making sure my crew is unhurt I see the rescue boat inthe distance racing to assist us. Thoughts of our failure two years ago flood my mind.

Words, that small kids should never hear, come out of my mouth. We are not goinghome in the rescue boat this time.

In 2004, bad weather and extreme seas swamped our canoe and literally split openour safety ama midway across the Alenuihaha Channel. We were racing from the BigIsland to Maui. After 17 years of Hawaiian Sailing Canoe Association races, we were thefirst all-woman crew to compete.

Grudgingly, but fearing for our safety – we had seen a shark eating a pilot whaleright before we went down – we called in the rescue boat. Feeling like our wahine (fe-male) crew had let down all of womankind, we vowed to train even harder and smarter.

PACIFIC ISLAND BOATS

Over the next few years, we had good days, and really bad days – days with 30-knot winds and 20-foot seas in a 48-foot canoe with a sail capable of generating speedsup to 22 knots, all being steered with a wooden paddle. It made us wonder how the

Polynesian ancestors traveled sofar in similar craft to find Hawaii.It is 2008 – 10 Hawaiian sailingcanoes have left a beach inKahului, Maui heading forKa’anapali beach in Maui. Againwe are the only all-wahine crew.The conditions are challenging:20-knot winds and 7-10-foot wavefaces.

We go high of the fleet, the better to turn down and catch the following seas andsurf to the finish. Our canoe is flying. And then it happens. We are surfing down a wavewhen a sudden loud and violent crack comes from the rigging. One of the worst thingsthat can happen to a sailing canoe has happened to us. Was it time to bail out of therace and get assistance to make it to shore?

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“Let us hook you up,” the rescue boat captain screams to us. “No, just stand by!” Iyell back. “We can do this.” Through determination and clever leverage – while ducking30-pound pieces of wood flying overhead and pieces of cotton line swing around likewhips – we raise and reattach the entire standing rigging and raise the sail in thosesame winds and high seas that had taken us down before.

We cross the finish line 30 minutes after the last sailing canoe finished, and aregreeted as if we have won. It dawns on me that what we have actually won that day isfar more important than first place. We have won the respect from our fellow watermen.We are no longer “the wahines in the pink sailing canoe,” we are the wahines of Moa “E”Ku.

YOU, TOO CAN BE PART OF SKINNY HULL, HERE’S HOW!

WRITERS AND PHOTOGRAPHERS GUIDELINES

This is the preferred way of submitting copy [articles, etc.] and images [photos,etc.]. The easier it is for us to use them, the more likely it is we will!

ALL submissions MUST be your original work or submitted with written permission ofthe creator. Old, historical works are very welcome but you need to inform us abouttheir source. Upon submission you have, for all intents and purposes, certified thatwhat you have sent is your intellectual property.

Copy:-12 point, Times New Roman, left-hand justified ONLY. No fancy formatting, etc. that

I’ll just end up undoing anyway.-News pieces: 300 – 500 words-Articles: 500 or more words. Pieces that are more than 3,000 may be serialized—

run in consecutive issues. Please tell me you’d like to consider that for your longerarticle. I’m very open to the prospect for worthwhile topics.

-How-to, building and repair/restoration articles: make these photo-heavy withexplanations for each photo or diagram.

-Travelogues: Include plenty of photos, etc. Consider including links to Google Maps.-If you have a particular placement for an image within the document, place its file

name in brackets [sailingcanoe.jpg] where you’d like to have it placed.-By lines include your name and your town so we know where you’re from.Images: [ALL images—Includes photos, scans, diagrams, etc.]-100dpi, 1200 px wide minimum. Larger is better! I reserve the right (unless you

specify otherwise) to edit images as needed.-Color preferred, but B&W, etc. are a welcome change when appropriate.-Large, crisp images are preferred to small ones. I limit image sizes in the publica-

tion, but large ones I can to reduce produce better quality.-Name each file, then provide important info and captions in a separate, clearly

labeled document. If the images accompany an article, etc., list the info at the end ofthe document. For example:

sailingcanoe.jpg; photo by Joe Doe; woman in blue is Deborah, man in green is Ed

Please email ALL inquiries and submissions to: editor@canoesailingmagazine.com

ROLLIN THURLOW, NORTHWOODS CANOE COMPANYRollin Thurlow, proprietor of the Northwoods Canoe

Company, has spent much of his life either paddling, repair-ing or building wooden canoes. Introduced to canoeing viathe family’s aluminum canoe in the early 1960’s, Rollin dis-covered the excitement of Maine’s lakes and rivers. Whileguiding Boy Scout trips in the mid 60’s down the AllagashRiver and other Northwoods waterways, he learned the ad-vantages and spirit of wood and canvas canoes. These tripsalso started his education into the repair and maintenance ofthese traditional working craft.

After graduation from MaineMaritime Academy and a tour of dutyin the U.S.Navy. Rollin’s formal edu-cation in the construction of woodenboats began when he attended theWooden Boat Construction programin Lubec, Maine. In 1975 he and

Jerry Stelmok became partners in the Island Falls CanoeCompany.  They were building canoes off the originalE.M.White forms in addition to a wide variety of other woodenboat construction and restoration projects.

In 1982, Rollin established the Northwoods Canoe Com-pany for the purpose of wooden canoe restoration and con-struction of his own canoe designs. In response to many requests from do-it-yourselfers, he has developed an ever-expanding line of canoe kits, plans, and hard-to-find materials and tools.

Regarded as one of Maine’s finest craftsmen, Rollin is in demand as a lecturer andinstructor. He has taught various canoe classes at the Wooden Boat School, Brooklin,ME; Buffalo State College, Buffalo, NY; Maine Maritime Museum, Bath, ME; WoodenCanoe Heritage Association, Paul Smiths, NY; and at the Wilderness Workshop,Toronto, Canada. In addition to the many articles he has written, Rollin and JerryStelmok co-authored the book The Wood & Canvas Canoe, now regarded as the defini-tive work on the subject. Rollin has also produced two videos; Building the AtkinsonTraveler and Steam Bending for Woodworkers, demonstrating wood/canvas canoebuilding and wood working techniques.

Northwoods Canoe Company207-564-3667info@wooden-canoes.comhttp://www.wooden-canoes.com

The following pages reflects Rollin’s work benefitted by the craftsmanship of ToddBradshaw, Doug Fower and Bob Lavirtue.

FEATURED BUILDER

“Thanks for all yourtime at the WoodenBoat School. Thecourse was thehighlight of mysummer. I learned alot, and yourapproach gave me alot of confidence.”-Paul Nelson;

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Design 22- a classic paint design from the Old TownCanoe company- painted on a new wood and canvas

canoe built by the Northwoods Canoe Co. 2009.

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Facing page:Carrol A.T. - 55 sq ft lateen sailrig for a wood and canvas canoe,the 17 ft Atkinson Traveler builtby the NWCC. Sail by DougFower, Sailmaker, Ithaca, NY

This page and overleaf:Thum - 1900’s William English allwood canoe fitted out with newbat wing sail rig, lee boards andrudder. Sails by Todd Bradshaw,Addition Sailmakers; Madison WI

Bronze hardware by BobLavirtue, Springfield Fan Center-board co, Ludlow MA

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