Looks like this. All three cross-braces are held in place by gunwhale clamps from Sailboats-to-go. The wooden foot-brace has a cam-cleat for the halyard, and a GPS speedometer on a post. I want to sit facing forward since I like to kayak-paddle as well as sail, but I also want to be able to hike out at least a little. So the idea is that I can slide over on the seat and lean out a bit, while still bracing my feet diagonally against the foot-brace, as if the original side-rails were rotated 90 degrees, but this way I have better back support.
I tried this rig for the first time today, on a small flat lake where I test new boats and rigs, and it seemed to work pretty well: top speed of 5.4 mph in what the forecast said was 8 mph wind, with only the 45 SF Snark sail on it, on the short Minifish mast, and with the short Sailfish daggerboard. I sail with outriggers because I'm a wuss about capsizing, but the Sailfish sits so low that the floats were in the water all the time, creating unnecessary drag. So for this test I mounted the floats upside down, and also moved them forward of the mast, to be clear of the paddle blades. At 5.4 mph with some water coming over the bow, the floats didn't even reach the water yet. Soon I'll be taking this rig out on big wavy Cayuga Lake with the 65 SF Minifish sail and daggerboard, but first I wanted to make sure I could steer it OK with this seating arrangement, with the tiller behind the seats.
I tried this rig for the first time today, on a small flat lake where I test new boats and rigs, and it seemed to work pretty well: top speed of 5.4 mph in what the forecast said was 8 mph wind, with only the 45 SF Snark sail on it, on the short Minifish mast, and with the short Sailfish daggerboard. I sail with outriggers because I'm a wuss about capsizing, but the Sailfish sits so low that the floats were in the water all the time, creating unnecessary drag. So for this test I mounted the floats upside down, and also moved them forward of the mast, to be clear of the paddle blades. At 5.4 mph with some water coming over the bow, the floats didn't even reach the water yet. Soon I'll be taking this rig out on big wavy Cayuga Lake with the 65 SF Minifish sail and daggerboard, but first I wanted to make sure I could steer it OK with this seating arrangement, with the tiller behind the seats.
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