: I'm aware of sailing theory Bill. The question is: does it work
: anyway for the paddlers in Tasmania? Perhaps it does, although
: like Mr. Gentry says above, no matter how well it points,
: paddling into wind is much faster than sailing into it. I'm
: curious to learn about the hulls used down under. I've seen some
: big rudders hanging off the back of loooong kayaks. Perhaps the
: hull has enough lateral resistance by itself, which is why it
: needs a big 'ol rudder to turn it. Perhaps there's a retractable
: "skeg" between the paddlers legs. My solution to add
: lateral resistance, if needed, would likely be a greenland
: paddle stuffed under a line holding it fast to the gunwale. I
: wish I could remember where I read about them. A google search
: doesn't find what I'm looking for. Anyone know exactly what they
: do down there?

I did a web search this am for those kayaks and found a kayak club that has what looks like small but conventional sails on their kayaks, but they don't seem to use anything for lateral resistance. They also don't have a picture of them sailing upwind, there is one that might show, kinda hard to tell for sure, them reaching across the wind. I suspect they don't actually sail upwind or even try, the sails giving them somewhat more directional ability than just dead down wind, but since there is little written about them, it's awfully hard to tell for sure.

Bill H.