> Brian, How did you modify it? Lengthen the amas? I'm thinking of this for
> the Tred Avon, bit I think that they are too short; should be about 3/4 of
> the length of the main hull. Did you change the attachment / positioning
> of the akas?

I'm also building the CLC rig for an 18' Chesapeake. I picked up a used set of mast/spars/line/sail (gaff rigged) for an old European kayak.... it is sort of like a wooden version of the Klepper full sail rig. The sail (triangular main) that came with it is cotton, about 27 sq ft. I'd like to have a new dacron sail built, maybe something more 4-sided to take full advantage of the gaff rig. At the same time I'd like to add a small jib as well. (hell maybe even a larger genoa too)

Has anyone found a good source of used/custom sails in this size range? I've found a few sites that have small pram/dinghy sails, but they don't quit fit my dimensions.... and most of the custom sailmakers seem to cater more to larger cruisers. Sailrite offers a lot of small sails in kit/completed form for fairly reasonable prices, but none the right size...

I would also be curious to know how longer amas affect the performance / handling of a boat. I am building the 8-footers... would have liked to use the alternate design for the 12-foot hulls, but wasn't real keen on doing my own scarf joints at the time. I can see increased performance due to (A) faster hull speeds of the longer amas and (B) decreased wetted surface area of the main kayak hull due to the fact that the larger ama shares more of the overall displacement of the boat. (I'm not sure if B is true; common sense says it should be though)

P.S. Any kayak sailing mailing lists out there? I might set one up if there aren't any.... email me at ljs@montana.com if you know of any, or if you would like to see one. I hate sifting through rec.boats.building and rec.boats.paddle for this type of info...............