DIY Cheap Canoe Sail!

This was the first step.

A couple of poles, a plastic drop cloth, and a few nuts and bolts. Who would have thought that you can buy canoe sails at your local hardware store? Stay tuned for a followup video when there's actually some wind!

Warning: most of this video is boring and a waste of your time. The first minute or two is the only helpful/interesting part.

[BillyGirlardo]

When I heard, "I don't know all the sailing terms", I knew I had to follow this guy cuz we're speaking the same language and I'm prepping my recently bartered canoe too.

[paulpa]

ill never forget as a kid, my brother and i rigged a sail to our inflatable fish hunter boat and it worked really well in cape cod bay. we spent hours zipping around

[mikefule]

That's genuinely an interesting design and I like the tripod mast. When you are paddling downstream in a fairly fast current, there is not a ripple on the surface and the leaves are not moving, but you feel a light breeze on your face, that is not the wind blowing upstream that you can feel; it is the apparent wind of you passing through still air.

[archer]

“The battery died so you just didn’t see it” 🤣🤣😂🤣LOL!!!
Epic line!

[RobbsHomemadeLife]

The only place more difficult to sail than a narrow river with tall trees is a small lake surrounded by hills that give you endless shifting winds. I think you are doing great with your design and look forward to you getting someplace more open with a steady breeze. The sail area does look a little large. However, I bet you could add an outrigger very easily. The lateen rig you are using is not very common in the US but it is very easy to lower and puts the center of effort very low which is good for your canoe. I am happy to subscribe.

[ilyafaden]

nice rig. it is hard to catch wind on a river like that . It really has to be a breezy day. But when you do it is bloody magic.

[MCP]

This is brilliant! I live on a narrowboat on the UK canals. We are allowed a tender at no extra cost, maximum 9 feet long, and I love to row and sail. There are lots of bridges over the canals, and they are not high, so the mast would have to be really short, so a lug or lateen rig would be ideal. I also live off grid, so simplicity and self-reliance are also important. You are giving me so many ideas :-)

[summerequinocio]

Congratulations! I never ever saw a trípode master. It’s a real good stuff!

[Heybudhowsitgoing]

Hey man I love this! I have a nice DIY kayak sailing setup posted on my YouTube here. I was thinking about switching the rig to a Lateen and found your video here! You did a great job! I just changed my leeboard setup from dual cuttingboards to a single asymmetrical leeboard. I found an old, long 55cm windsurfing fin and used it as my leeboard. I too started out with just a sail and ended up turning my kayak into a full sailing rig

[andrewmcdonald]

Awesome! Perfect video for answering all my Lateen sail questions for a small craft. Fascinating.

[leonlind]

Dead calm and in moving water haha you are adventurous!

[gerrys]

I like the concept...thanks. by the way....what would you have done if your phone wasn't there?

[danhoyt]

I just got the book this rig came from. it looks like it will work well

[chrismccartney]

You can use paddle as rudder and leeboard as used by Duck Punt Sailers plenty if duck punt sailing on youtube

[crippledkitty]

I would make the tripod mast taller and further aft. That way you can balance the yard closer to it's center and only need one line near the bow. Also a leeboard just like you said.

[RatCatCrew]

This is incredible thank you for making this video! I was thinking about springing for a solway dory kit. Reach and even close reach?! Your design is brilliant!

[bunyipdan]

I think you are on the right track with the lanteen a look at Romy Sail Rig, it has a similar vibe but a little more refined system and simpler sail operation. If you make a T frame across thwarts to swing a leeboard from and you can get a little wider base for the mast A-frame, then run an extended bow sprit forward from that. The gaff boom (pole that the sail hangs from) can provide the longitudinal tension/stability for the mast no need for the bow to top of mast pole. I think if you can get your hands on an old windsurfer rig it would make an ideal donor for all nessesary parts (could also provide a really good floatation arma for outrigger configuration, and a suitable leeboard).

[Schallerotto]

Congratulations for the Idea! Great! I'll try that. What is the sail's pole made of?

[elizabethmcintire]

Sweet rig. Is that an inner tube? Would absolutely watch more videos of this, like how you built it and more on how you set it up.

[one-eye-guy-]

How would the plastic cloth hold up in the open sun