Sailing an adirondack guideboat?

[Steve Paskey]

Well, why not: people sail canoes, don't they?

A week and a half ago, I ran into Vermont guideboat maker Steve Kaulback at the Antique and Classic Boat Show in St. Michaels, Maryland. Steve was there with his boats (both wood and kevlar -- see http://www.adirondack-guide-boat.com ), and was showing the prototype for a removable sailing rig. The design was copied from canoe rigs, with a pair of adjustable thwarts, leeboards, etc. Hard to describe without a picture, but it was shaped sort of like an "H", with a leeboard on the rear thwart and a mast step suspended from the forward thwart.

Anyone ever tried something like this on a guideboat, or know of someone who's tried it?

[Todd Bradshaw]

That would be a "Lost in the Woods-style" rigging deck, like this one from Lost in the Woods Boatworks.
http://lostinthewoods.ca/images/sail7.gif
A very clever invention that makes adding the sail rig a simple, clamp-on procedure.

http://lostinthewoods.ca/conversion.html

I've spoken to a couple folks over the years who were thinking about sailing their guideboats, but haven't heard back from any who've tried it (or survived, don't know which). That wishbone hull cross-section should have some interesting characteristics when heeled over and pushed forward, so I don't have a clue what to expect. I also wondered a bit about hull durability for wooden guideboats, since they're pretty lightly built and don't usually have a very massive gunwale structure. Canoe sailing can put some fairly intense, concentrated strains on the rig's contact points and the canoes' sturdier gunwale/thwart structures are usually what takes most of the strain.

[Thorne]

LOL ! :D




...but haven't heard back from any who've tried it (or survived, don't know which).

[Steve Paskey]

Thanks Todd, that's exactly the arrangement.

[Bruce Hooke]

If you want to actually make a sailing rig I highly recommend Todd Bradshaw's book, Canoe Rig: The Essence and the Art : Sailpower for Antique and Traditional Canoes. As the title indicates, it is focused on sailing canoes, but I think you'll find that a lot of the information would carry over to a guideboat.

That said, the first issue is certainly figuring out how viable it is to put a sail on an Adirondak guideboat...

[Steve Paskey]

I have a copy of Todd's book, and it's outstanding. Steve Kaulback seems to be about done with the set up, except for the mast and sail. I imagine he'll try it out this summer, and wil be very interested to hear how it goes.

[Boatmik]

If you can sail a canoe you can sail a guideboat.

Both have low stability, so will require a bit of sailing nous to get good results from

Both have a lot of directional stability - which is good for paddling/rowing but will mean that they are almost impossible to tack without help from a paddle.

Which just adds to the fun in my book!

I don't know how much sail is on the suggested sail rig, but it might not be enough for the bigger bodied and heavier guideboat.

Would probably be suggesting around the 40sq ft mark as a baseline for doing a bit of fun sailing in a bay, but you will probably need a bit more if wanting to actually go places and return.

Something like this might be OK with a slightly enlarged sail and mast http://members.ozemail.com.au/~storerm/Boatplans.html

Best Regards
Michael Storer