: My experience comes from the small numbers on the measuring tape. I sail an 8
: foot pram. I aimed my criticisms at John's plan because his boat is also
: quite short. In boat hulls there is no way to overcome a very short
: waterline. That means they are slow while running and very slow while
: tacking. Saddling yourself with a short waterline and a sail that may or
: may not be up to par is OK if you are not trying to get someplace. For a
: while I was in that mode. Happy what I had built worked and not interested
: in getting anywhere. But, eventually I did try to get places and often had
: to turn back because it was taking too long. I did everything I could to
: set the boat up properly so I have no doubts that the only way to more
: speed is to fly a properly made sail with more square feet.
: What John is attempting is to use a low technology method to make a
: complicated high technology sail. High aspect, bat-winged and battened.
: And to mount it on a boat that wasn't designed for sail. If it works it
: will be apparent. If it doesn't work he won't know if it's the boat the,
: sailing set-up or the sail. By introducing a lot of variables, finding and
: overcoming the faults will be more than a chore. I think he would further
: his project by buying a good used sail of an appropriate size and using it
: till he is certain he has everything else sorted out.

Charlie my boat just keeps taking on a new life of it's own and this is where I am at now, just trying out new things. I get a kick out of this. The boat in the picture is from the Water Tribe sailing groups in FL. Almost all use the Balogh batwing sail but different sizes. These setups are tried and proven and this is the look I am after. This type of sail plus my new teardrop shaped long leeboard and rudder should enable me to go up wind pretty good. I look for this to have adequate speed but not super speed like my old 15’cat, which planed on the water rather then pushing through it. You can have good speed with a short boat. My cat was 15 feet long but had a sweeping banana shaped bow that left about 13 foot of water line, but could through large rooster tail on windy days. The sail boards also have high speed with a short waterline because they plane also. What I am really after is a sailboat that is stable, with adequate speed, can sail close to the wind, can all breakdown and pack inside the kayak so I can paddle and have a perfect craft to explore the Northern Georgian Bay next fall. So this is all a means to an end, I hope and a heck of a good hobby.
John