Project Griswold: rigging a canoe for sailing
The fever hit me in the form of a boat, and there are very few cures for a case of Boat-Fever other than acquiring a boat. Thus, a canoe was acquired. That being said, once an object is in my possession, it is difficult for me to not modify/upgrade the thing.
This is a pictoral tale of the mods I made to a canoe during the Summer of 2019. Originally, I had hoped to post about each of the main components that were created for the canoe, but that simply wasn't happening fast enough, and thus I decided to post all of the boat modifications at once. Technically, the majority of components are removable and aren't actually "modifications", but you get the idea.
The canoe!
16' Wenonah Prospector… the "Lewis & Clark" model
Clark, Clark, Clark?
Obviously I needed to name the project after the greatest adventurer named "Clark"
Clark W. Griswold
Yup, it can paddle around
Paddling is over-rated, so I built a detachable motor mount
The canoe did not want a motor
the first test of the motor resulted in a flipped canoe, and the need for a new phone. It is
amazing that the battery didn't get lost.
Obviously the canoe wanted a more natural mode of propulsion, and at this time it was decided that wind power was the best way to go.
starting the rudder mount
the bolt on bracket for the rudder
Design some outrigger/ama/mini-hulls
Inkscape was used to rough out a design for outriggers
Hopefully the depth of the outriggers negates the need for a dagger board
Outrigger pieces cut
Outrigger skeletons, glued and screwed
Rigid insulation cut for the outriggers
The insulation will be epoxied to the outrigger skeleton and then shaped
Initial design of the kick-up rudder and rudder box
Why not draw designs directly on the wood?
Clamping the insulation onto the outrigger skeleton
Smoothed with a rasp and power sander
Rudder and rudder-box mostly complete
A cap for the rudder axle
The rudder axle is 1/2" copper tube
Finished axle
A yoke on the axle box
The rudder retracts quite well
Find a new tiller
A branch of Ash cut from a local tree will make an excellent tiller
Fiberglassing the outriggers
Designing clamps for the outrigger arms/akas
Akas are done, man
Mast source
a piece of wood for the mast couldn't be found, so I decided to build one
from pieces ripped from this 10' 4"x4"
knotwork holding the outriggers to the arms
this was later replaced with a bungie cord that makes the process of assembly quite a bit faster
Laminating a mast
two pieces of 2x1 were ripped from the 4x4 and glued together
Remove the corners
Not quite aligned, but a belt sander put things in order
Making the bolt-on mast housing
Paint does not hide everything
Roughing the sail shape
the sail is based on the 36 square feet sail from reallysimplesails.com
the sail is cut
Hella sinister scissors make every project better
Making the yards
The yards are 1x1 ripped from the remains of the 4x4 used for the mast. Scarf joints helped achieve the correct length
Sippin and sewing
Party!
The sail wasn't complete yet, but I was invited to a birthday party on the lake, and felt it
was a great time to test the rudder and outriggers on some bigger water.
Stable enough for a hyper puppers
This was the first trip to the lake with the outriggers, and it was a real learning experience. Tear down, load up, transport, unload, set up, and hit the water. Inefficiencies were found, and remedied.
Sheep poo
The sail was finally finished, and tied to the yards. This was done in my driveway; then a sheep walked on the sail and took a crap.
Mast foot
This is the only real modification to the canoe. The mast foot needs to be epoxied
to the inside of the canoe so that the mast stays in place.
Holy crap that looks bad, but it works!
Cruising at 3KPH
And there she is, sailing on the lake. :)
Griswold isn't the fasted boat on the water, and that's OK. Any use of wind power for propulsion is time that I am not paddling. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy going for a paddle, but I also like using the wind to help me explore the lake.
Cheers!
jezra :)