More Kayak Sailing Videos

It has been raining all morning. Not a fun day to go out and train. I agree that I should be out there in all sort of conditions but after moving my daughter into her collage room yesterday I need a day to recharge my batteries.

I have posted two more sailing videos on you tube. I am finding out that it is much easier to take video than it is to produce one.

The first is from another Chesapeake Bay excursion for my continued Watertribe testing. I am getting to a point of almost no breakdowns. Now to gather all the required equipment and pack it all into the boat.



The second video is from a little expedition trip with my son to the Easter Shore of Virginia. The ocean side has numerous barrier islands. Most are owned by the Nature Conservancy and have very limited day access. I know of only one that allows remote camping, Mockhorn Island. Located at the southern end of the peninsula. I have been thinking about a overnight Kayak trip, leaving Lynnhaven, cross the mouth of the Chesapeake and though Fisherman's Island Channel up to Mockhorn. Camp on the island and return the next day...


This video was shot in HD. Blogger limits the size of your display. I had to play around with it to get it to fit. The video does show some new angles of the boat that I was unable to capture before. It is also enjoyable to pass on to my son some of my sailing experiences.

Labor day weekend I will travel to Cedar Island, North Carolina to familiarize my self with the Watertribe North Carolina Challenge race course.

Kayak Sailing Video

I have finished my latest Kayak Video and posted it to You-Tube.



I was hoping to cross the entire mouth of the Chesapeake and back. After braking the rudder I decided that it would be prudent to turn around.

I built a new rudder head that has double pintle/gudgeon support instead of one and added a pocket for the rudder blade for additional blade support. I will try to test this weekend but the weather is suppose to be ~100Deg F...

Watertribe Kayak Update

For the past few weeks I have spent most of my time tweaking the kayak and spending time on the water, trying to put as many miles under the keel as possible. The basic design is finished. I modified the outrigger float from digging into the waves by lifting the ends.

The first sail reef works well and is easy to work. I have used it several times already. To meet the Watertribe rules I need to install another reef at the next batten.

There are about ten weeks left until the North Carolina Challenge race. I went out this weekend into some rough waves and took some video. I will post it as soon as I edit it…

New Kayak Outrigger Test Run

My Watertribe Kayak is starting to come together. Yesterday I took it out on to the Lynnhaven Bay for testing of the new outrigger design. I made a little video describing the trip.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6JbpfyuHZE

For this test I stayed in the Lynn haven Bay. The next step will be to go out in to the open waters of the Chesapeake Bay where the waves are bigger.  I have to find out how the design behaves under more challenging environment.

Watertribe Kayak Progress

The Watertribe Kayak Project is coming along. So far I have installed the mast, sail, rudder, daggerboard and associated areas to hold the equipment stowed on the deck. The mast, sail and daggerboard all came from E-Bay in the Wind Surfer Section.

The things that I still have to figure out or perfect are: 1) Sail Reefing – Watertribe rules require that you can reef the sail. The windsurfer sail has a sock that slips over the mast. I have installed reef points just above the first batten. The sock prevents the sail to fold on to the boom. I have cut a slot in the sock to allow for folding. Too much of a slot will ruin the sail shape. The distance to the second batten is much greater and the slots will not work. I might have to use a zipper or some other solution. 2) The rudder is home made. I do not have sliding foot pegs. Need to find some other type of system to control the rudder with my feet. 3) Sail works great at lower wind speeds. In higher winds or empty kayak the boat wants to go over. I need an outrigger to help stabilize the boat. It does not need to be too large.

Watertribe Kayak Project

Watching the WATERTRIBE Everglades Challenge last month has inspired me to do the North Carolina Challenge in September. The race is just the right distance and close enough to my home ground to be attainable.

I do not have a Kevlar Racer or a long distance cruiser. But my trusty Plastic 14.5’ Wilderness Systems $300 tub can cruise at 3.5 knots for long distances. It is stable and has the load carrying capability. With a nice sail I think that I can FINISH in Class 3.

My other recent interest is welding Plastic. Unlike Epoxy you can see the results instantaneously. I threw out the large heavy seat and replaced it with watertight compartments and foam built in seat. Everything has to have a purpose. The mast and sail are from a Windsurfer purchased on e-bay for lass than $100.

I have been reading all the Watertribe rules. The thing that attracts me to the Watertribe concept is the different ideas that people come up with. If I had the time I would love to build a Matt Layden style boat. The full enclosure has a lot of merit to a long distance passage.

Some things that I have to work out are the rudder, centerboard, and outrigger. To keep up with the plastic idea I am using all the old scrap HDPE plastic that I can find. So far I have used a old recycle bin and part of a old dog house that I had sitting in the back yard. At the same time I am trying to gather up all the other gear that an expedition like this requires. Then there is time on the water to train and work out the bugs.

I will try to post as I go. For a while my sailboat is taking the back seat. I have some unfinished projects before I can take her out. So many projects...

Making a Portlight Rain Shield

In the previous Blog I exlained how the Fixed Portlights were replaced with Beckson 5"x12" Opening Ports. I soon found out that when it rained the back rake of the cabin collected water in the Portlight coaming. The port could not be left open. The main purpose of the opening Port was to provide ventilation while keeping the nasty Chesapeake flying critters out.

There are several commercial rain shields available. The things that I did not like about them are the cost and that they block some of the ventilation by wrapping down around the Portlight. I had plenty of scrap Plexiglas around the garage. If you understand how to work with this material you can make some nice components for your boat. The hardest part is to cut the material. Straight lines can be cut with a plastic scoring tool available at your local Home Depot. Unlike cutting glass you scratch through the material multiple times until you are about half way through. To snap the piece I use two pieces of wood to support the edge. This is the hardest part of the operation. Practice on scrap material. Curves and inside corners can be cut with a fine toothed jig-saw blade. Again you run the risk of cracking the material. I usually cut outside the line and finish off with a sander or grinder. The edges can also be rounder with the same tools.

Above drawing is a rough template for a 5"x12" Portlight. First you cut out the main rectangle. It is easier to bend the plastic at this point. I found a piece of PVC pipe with the same radius as the Beckson Portlight corners. I marked the rectangle with the location where the radiuses bend start. (dashed lines on diagram) Using a Hot Air Gun I pre-heated between the dashed areas constantly moving back and forth. Be careful not to overheat and burn the plastic. The Plexiglas starts getting shiny and starts to bend. At this point form your curve over the PVC pipe. You do not have too much time. If too stiff continue to heat. Make sure that you have a nice 90 degree bend. Once I have my shape I dip the sheet and pipe in a bucket of cold water to freeze the shape. Test your creation to make sure that it fits snugly over the Portlight coaming.

You will notice that the rain shield points up. To give it a downward pitch you have to cut out two triangle sections across the back. Part of this triangle runs into the curve. First I rough cut the triangle off with a jig-saw. Using a belt sander I removed the final amount and tested the shade until I had a nice tight fit.

The jib sheets tend to get caught on the bottom corners of the shade. To keep this from happening I sanded a nice radius curve. You now should have a basic shade as shown in the pictures.

I wanted the rain shade to be easily removable without any special tools. This was done using four small cotter pins. I placed the shield on the coaming and drilled the holes using the smallest drill bit possible. Make sure that you have enough edge on the coaming. The pins do not snag sheets because they are protected by the shield.

DESIGN PROBLEM: Water tends to leak behind the top joint, puddle and run over the top coaming. The solution was to lay a bead of clear Silicone Caulk across the top. This made the shield less removable. I have towed the boat at highway speeds with the shields installed. No problem if everything is nice and tight.

Another problem: Water sitting inside the lower corner of the Beckson Portlight puddles and can flow over the window gasket with the Portlight open. I carefully drilled three small holes in the coaming to drain this water. (See above picture)

This might not be the best rain shade in the world. But, I do have the satisfaction of building and solving the design.