Convert your ordinary kayak into a sailing rig for under a hundred bucks. Detailed description and plastic welding demonstration. GeoCities website at the end of the video no longer exists, sorry.
Man, this is great. Highly detailed, easy to do, no major modifications, and I really appreciate that you didn't try to monetize it by selling plans or something. Thanks!
The flex in the mast is probably keeping you from capsizing. When the wind is strong and the mast flexes, that will de-power the sail. You add a stiffer mast and the boat will on it's side faster than you can say "oh shit."
Thanks for putting this up! It inspired me to hang on to my old rotomolded CD Squall and outfit the thing for sailing. Only kayak sailing I have done was when I lashed the 2 halves of my spare paddle together in a T and tied my rain parka to it...
Absolutely not, you won't be able to store enough food or water for such a long voyage on a 10 ft kayak. All these rec yaks were not really designed to deal with waves at all.
Audfile don't let some guy tell you you can't do it! YOU can do anything. What ocean are you crossing? I'll bet this would take me the 50 miles to the Bahamas from Wpb where I live. Would that not be "crossing ocean"?
Eff Yoo Bahamas, sounds nice. I live North to where if I jumped off my boat shirtless for a nice swim it would be instantly regretted and I'd be unconscious within 20 minutes.
Sorry late response. The hickory rake handle fits tight in the 1" heavy duty PVC mast but it still flexes too much. It has never broken though. I'm still sailing with it but now have a two and a quarter inch diameter carbon fiber mast that tapers down towards the top. It came from an old windsurfer. I want to use the existing 1 1/4 mast mount but haven't figured the best way to adapt it. I've been looking at some aluminum and PVC fittings.
HEY Ft walton ! very nice I'm in Crestview now but enjoy those beaches every year with the kids.. pensacola beach moved me inland after hurricane Ivan '04, happy sailing see ya out there man.
plastic welding only works on thermo plastics, generally most softer recycle-able plastics, stiffer plastics that are formed by a chemical reaction (like epoxy resin) will burn if you try to plastic weld them, it's easy to check suitability in an inconspicuous area with a soldering iron, thermo plastic will melt around the tip, non thermo plastic will char and crumble.
When I first built this I did not have the orange 1 1/4" thick wall polyethylene conduit. The centerboard mount was a piece of 1 1/4" PVC pipe epoxied to an aluminum plate that was heated and slightly melted flat into the kayak. Extra polyethylene was melted and squeezed tight around the edges of the plate to seal it. this did eventually loosen and started leaking. Luckily shortly after that I found the conduit and replaced the assembly. I've picked up another scrap piece along a road recently.
Flex in the mast is a good thing as it would depower the sail in gusts making it easier to stay upright.personally I think the area needing most improvement would be sail shape and cut. Good looking project though I like the centerboard setup thats pretty cool.
polyethylene. It's easy to weld. PVC is hard to weld as it's composition breaks down at temperatures just above it's melt point so is very tricky. You can weld ABS, Polypropylene and others with correct rod. PEX doesn't melt well and bond so don't use that tubing. Most kayaks are Polyethylene. Some are fiberglass. I've heard of Ram-X but have not played with it.
I figured out that makeing a frame to place on top ot the kayak and using eyelets and cords to strap it down and then attatching leeboards using old cheep raft paddles worked a lot better that the center board on the bottom of the kayak.That way you can lift up the leeboards when you get in shallow water or in heavy weather. As for the support on the mast. If you screw in small eyelets into the the bow, starboard, port of your kayak, the attach a forstay and shrowds that would fix your stability
I'am doing something similar with my 8ft clinker style sailing dinghy. Adding a second sail which will act as a genoa. Zap strapped a second mast to the original one, As the new sail is taller then the main. Bow sprit and new mast made out of pcp pipe.
@RLZerr Awesome! I actually got a aluminum mast now, its 3/4" but I found out it still bends, I found a wooden dowel that fits so I shoved it in there and that did the trick.
Wow...I am beyond impressed. I learned SO much about building and repairing (in general) from this one AWESOME creative invention. I have a 10 ft sit in Pelican and am thinking of some kind of sailing modification. Great idea!
Yes, the centerboard has broken off a few times, but it was due to striking the bottom too fast or once, a submerged log. All but one time have been able to recover it and just made a new PVC stem. The PVC tube holding the centerboard snaps off, which is a bit of a safety feature as the polyethylene tube riser is stronger and reinforced with multiple welds and two layers of polyethylene. I always carry a life vest.
good luck with it and hope it works out. I look at it, if you get tired of paddling the same open waters endlessly month after month, year after year, adding a sail to harness all that free wind energy can bring the enjoyment back.
Having experience with JB Weld and West System epoxies, West System epoxy is superior in adhesion, strengths and far ahead in honesty and customer service.
Well done and very creative. How have you changed it since your initial design? Or how would you make it more robust other than stiffen the mast and boom? How does it point into the wind compared to Snark or Sunfish? Thanks for sharing.
No, never any leakage. Even at the part that is blocked from welding from the top due to the seat being in the way. Two plastic surfaces welded together is virtually just as strong as the material itself, and it is reinforced with extra polyethylene as shown, and welded again. It's never cracked, leaked or otherwise come lose in 7 years. It gets bumped by legs, feet, cargo, etc.. The top of the riser tube is over 2 inches higher than the water will come up even with a heavy load.
On plastic welding, a person could get by without a welder and plastic weld rod. Two polyethylene surfaces can be carefully heated to melt temperature and joined together for a superior bond. They MUST be the same grade of polyethylene though. You can join LDPE and HDPE (low density and high density polyethylene) but the bond will not be as strong. Most kayaks are HDPE. A plastic welder is best, but you can use a heat gun (larger areas) or a large magnifying lens (with dark shades and caution)
Thanks for posting your video. It was one of the few I kept returning to on youtube for inspiration and ideas for my own rig which I finished about a month ago(video posted today). I really like what you did here and it helped me to build mine. This is a great way for people to have their own personal sailboat that can go on the car top and be launched with just one person. Great idea! Thanks again
@nicholasnoble I inserted a wooden rake handle through the mast. Bought at Lowe's. It's still not as rigid as I'd like so if I was to do it again I'd spend some extra money and buy aluminum pipe for the mast. Ace Hardware has it.
@nicholasnoble I inserted a wooden rake handle through the mast. Bought at Lowe's. It's still not as rigid as I'd like so if I was to do it again I'd spend some extra money and buy aluminum pipe for the mast. Ace Hardware has it.
I'm not familiar with ram-x. Plastic welding works great with polyethylene, polypropylene and some other plastics. PVC is tricky as the heating temperature range is small. If over heated it breaks down and turns black.
I love your design. I made a sail for my kayak too, Its a Gaff rig about 8ft tall. The only thing I'm having trouble with is reinforcing the mast. How do you keep it from flexing too much? Especially when reaching into the wind?
Great info on the pipe sizing.. a big deal for DYS. H.Freight has a good heating iron with blower. I'm surprised the JB is holding on to PVC did it work well for long?
I just bought a new kayak and was thinking about re-purposing my old one into a sail boat like this. Cool video and good ideas on display here for a DYI conversion. I was thinking about pedal rudder controls on mine. Thanks for the tips and tricks. Nice work!
@fie1231 It's great fun! Building and sailing both. Especially when you can build things with "junk" items lying around. There's a Facebook page called "Skinny Hull Canoe and Kayak Sailing" with over 200 members. You can see lots of crafty designs. Most of the people there have done similar home projects.
+Alain Diaz yes but you cannot sail into the wind or even sideways very well. Even sailing at 90 degrees to the wind you will be pushed downwind some. I've seen others attach the centerboard to a cross board bungeed across the top of the kayak. It doesn't have to be exactly in the center of the kayak just has to oppose the force from the wind from the side. A much simpler design too.
What material is your kayak made from? Mine is ram-x and I've heard some pretty bad things about it including the fact that it cannot be repaired. Does plastic welding work, regardless of the material as long as you use the correct rods?
cool dude i just bought a watkins 25 and keeo her at broosk landing and i am just learning to sail. your project is something i could use as a ship to shore device at a reasonable cost hope to see you out there soon ,crazy carl
A wooden dowel inside the mast will stiffen immensely doesn’t have t be all the way 2/3 perhaps . I used that design in the seventies on homemade sail craft inside thin aluminum should work for plastic as well
Nice mod. I'm thinking about attempting this and it just so happens I live in Destin... maybe I'll try to get with you but I think I want some outriggers first....
I wouldn't use PVC if I did this again. Most windsurfers have a fiber / resin tapered mast that is very strong, rigid and light. Craigslist would be a great place to find more old windsurfers that might have a good mast. I bought an old windsurfer with mast and sail last spring but haven't done anything with it yet. If you do use PVC get the schedule 40 like I used here and fit the snuggest hickory shaft down the middle as you can find. I used a rake handle. But really, it's not rigid enough.
close reach is probably the tightest it will sail effectively into the wind. depends on the winds of course. In the video demo when "in the reach position" is shown, the correct sailing lingo should probably have been "broad reach" I'm not salty enough for all that jargon. arrr.
@superdave98008 That might be a good idea. But need adequate clearance from the junk between the legs. A removable centerboard off the side attached over the top of your lap might be a better idea but cumbersome. I guess it doesn't necessarily need to be in the center to work.
Hello Sir: Just bought myself a Lifetime Payette Kayak that was on sale and with an additional coupon it came to $160 matching used ones on craiglist. I've been seeing your video over and over and came across the section on the mast material (The HD PVC is categorized as schedule 40 for 450 PSI). I've found that there is Schedule 80 at 630 PSI for 1" (a 40% improvement) as well as harder to find Schedule 120 at 720 PSI. Anything higher than that would require metal. What do you think? THANKS!
I can see the necessity for the rutter but could you explain the reason behind using the middle aluminum plate. In the video you said it allows the boat to have power to go forward even with a side-wind, can you explain how in more depth. I'm really interested in learning how to sail and am thinking of trying this but on a canoe. Any thoughts?
+michael cummins The centerboard (middle aluminum plate) prevents the kayak from moving sideways when the force from the sails is pushing perpendicular to the kayak.
@dmitrioguz Yes, that's why the extra layers and welds around the center riser pipe that holds the centerboard stem. Lots of force when at speed, as well as on the mast. The centerboard has broken off a few times and had to be repaired. Usually from running aground. I always have a PFD.
Sorry late response. I've thought about changing the centerboard mount to a sleeve to fit the board so it can be pulled up to clear land and would be the strongest way to mount it. Just like in a Laser, Sunfish, Snark, etc. Successfully fabricating a functional sleeve from sheet polyethylene and welding it around a slot in the kayak would be a tough job with a small welder but is an idea to ponder, and I might just try it :)
@masterofsurvival Building something that works from inexpensive or free stuff is half the fun. I wouldn't want to use any iron or steel, it would rust out in no time. I sail in salt water. The clip that hooks the guyline to the top of the mast to the front of the kayak completely corroded away in a couple years. It was made out of chrome plated zinc. Brass, stainless steel and aluminum are the only metals that are reliable in salt water.
@PimDonatz Awesome! What kind of welder? I've also done a number of plastic welds on other projects using a large magnifying or Fresnel lens and sunlight. And a pair of VERY dark sunglasses! Must be careful as it can quickly overheat and burn so practice on scrap.
First off all, congratulation for your ideas and thank you for post. I am very interested in how could I do that welding device. You did or you bougth it? What is that material used to weld? Unfortunatelly here in Brazil our kayaks has no much good options to sailing or fishing and we if we would like, we must costumise it.For sure your video will help us a lot.
The welding iron was bought online over 10 yrs ago for plastic welding. The welding rod is polyethylene. I bought a large roll on eBay at the same time. Still using it. Probably have a 500 year supply at my rate :)
Most kayaks are made of high density polyethylene plastic. In the last couple years discovered the best adhesive to be Scotch Weld 2216. A room temperature cure semi flexible epoxy and works good on polyethylene as long as surfaces are roughened and are not subject to too much force. It is expensive epoxy, 1 small kit will cost as much as a plastic welder. JB Weld is the second best epoxy. It is cheaper but find it inferior to Scotch Weld because it cures very hard and brittle and easily peels from flexing forces. Plastic welding is superior to all adhesives. If done correctly is just as strong as the two materials joined. I would not rely on epoxy on polyethylene for high force joints such as mast or centerboard mounts. None of the adhesives you mentioned are reliable here especially PVC "glue" which only works for joining PVC to PVC.
I haven't tried it yet, but believe a hot bed of wood coals in a hole in the ground would heat a steel rod of around 3/8" diameter to hot enough to do plastic welding. Keep yourself upwind. Cut plastic welding filler rods from same type plastic. Better a bit too hot of welding than too cool. Practice, practice. Enjoy.
Milk jugs and laundry detergent bottles are the same material. I have used strips of milk jugs, to weld with a blow torch and hot spoon, a 1,500 gallon plastic water tank. I repaired a factory seam that had gave way.
I'm thinking of enlarging the sail for more speed in low winds. I have a larger carbon fiber non-flexing mast now that I have yet to install. The current sail is about 29-30 sq feet now, maybe go larger as much as 40 sq feet without an outrigger. I want to keep it as simple as possible and feel confident body weight alone will keep it upright :).
Unstable winds have caught me off guard and have stressed the boom fitting on the mast to where it broke, thus the reinforcement. an outrigger would be nice as sitting to one side inside a kayak can get uncomfortable. I did this project as a ultra simple and cheap sailing 'yak and as long as winds are 5-10mph it works great and is a load of fun.
@masterofsurvival Keeping the kayak light is a priority to me. I wanted it simple, easy to carry and launch from anywhere. I don't think a lead keel would be a good idea myself. No need worrying about tipping in a sudden strong gust. Once used to the feel of the rig and how it handles. The quick rudder and sail control is instantly responsive on such a small craft. Strong gust, just quickly turn into the wind more or let the sail out some. I've never tipped while sailing.
