: Anyone mounted sails on a sof? Can the structures deal well with
: the lateral loads? I'm pondering doing this to a Kudzu Curlew,
: although still in the very beginning stages of planning, haven't
: figgured out sail area, configuration, etc yet.

: Thoughts?

: Thanks. :)

: -- James

It's been done on my myriad Dyson baidarkas, plus on my own Chuckanut 15 kayaks, and also on generations of Kleppers and Folbots. There are two different varieties of kayak sailing, basically - downwind only, and "real" sailing. Downwind only (beam reach and below) rigs are common, and easy - all you need is some variety of sail (and there are many!), and a paddle to steer with. The stresses on the rig are minimal, and the rewards are often great.
"Real" sailing - i.e. rigs that can go upwind, too - are a whole different animal. You'll need some sort of leeboard, daggerboard or centerboard, plus a rudder - plus some beefing up in the frame area where the mast thwarts will be.
But, when you rig a kayak to sail upwind, you could often paddle upwind just as fast! Sitting down in a narrow kayak severely limits your ability to use your weight to counteract the force of the wind on the sail - meaning that you will get overpowered early and often. The wider your kayak, the better (in that respect), and that's why CLC has a sail rig available for their kayaks that features outriggers that you attach to the main hull.

Check out Todd Bradshaw's superb book "Canoe Rig: The Essence and the Art" for tons of info and great illustrations.