I would love to start designing and creating my own line of kayak sails. Everyone who owns a kayak also has a paddle why not a kayak sail as well. Therefore it needs to be compact, easy to setup and no more expensive than a standard paddle. Bring on Dragons Den :)
So why not buy me a coffee and I'll put the money towards materials and development of my ideas. I'm not looking to make a profit just develop my ideas. If you don't like my idea take your time to visit the other website links on the right.
So why not buy me a coffee and I'll put the money towards materials and development of my ideas. I'm not looking to make a profit just develop my ideas. If you don't like my idea take your time to visit the other website links on the right.
Hope you find the tutorial useful.
Kayak Sail Creation
Materials Required
- Rip Stop Nylon:- 1.5m x 1.5m (5ft x 5ft)
- Thin nylon cord - approx 5m (16ft)
- Bungee cord 6 or 8 mm (sail footing) - approx 0.6m (2ft)
- Velcro: 20cm of 25mm wide
- 15mm Class E PVC pipe x 2
- Bungee cord 5mm - approx 2.5m
- PVC Tee peices for 15mm pipe x 2
- Bamboo Canes 1.2m long x 2 If Required
- End caps to fit over pipe x 2
- Saddles and bolts for Kayak Deck
- Dog clips 2 x 12mm, 1 x 20mm
All units are in metric if you wish to convert here is a useful link: Conversion
Make the Sail
Take note the dimension specified are only a rough guide on proportions for the sail it can be larger or smaller depending on the size of the kayak, mine is around 5 meters in length.
- Initially draw the pattern of the sail onto the rip stop nylon using the dimensions shown and then cut it out. With any of the off cuts create two strips 12cm wide and about 1.7m long for the mast pockets.
- Now fold over a 1cm hem on the top and bottom of sail, pin it then sew.
- Then Hem the ends of the mast pocket material then fold mast pockets length wise in half and pin down each side of sail. Make sure when sewing to allow for a 1cm seam. Also Sew across the tops. Note. It is a good idea to reinforce the tops of the pockets to reduce stress from the poles.
- Roughly halfway down the mast pockets cut holes 8cm long and 4cm wide to allow the guidelines to be tied to the mast.
- You can also add a Velcro strip at the top of the sail so it can be easily tied down to the kayak when not in use.
Create the Mast
- Initially cut a 0.5cm ring off the end of each of the mast pipe then cut to make split ring. Then glue these to the masts about 2cm up from where the bottom of the hole in the mast pocket is positioned (This is done to stop the guide lines sliding down the mast poles.
- Now with the bamboo canes about 1.2m long fit them up the centre of the mast piping. This helps to strengthen and reduce the amount of flex in the pipe.
- Glue or tape end caps on then insert the masts into the pockets on the sail.
A lot of kayaks already have saddles in the front of the kayak such as the ‘Puffin’ Q Kayak. Otherwise you will need to purchase or create a saddle to support the footing of the kayak sail.
- Assemble the footing as shown in the diagram testing on the kayak to determine the correct pitch of the sail. Using foam can also help to protect the decking and raise or lower the pitch.
- Attaching the footing is best done using a bungee cord attaching directly to the kayak footing; an alternative is to wrap it around the whole kayak nose.
- Place the masts into the footings and get someone to hold the sail perpendicular to the deck (do not glue the mast into the footing T-piece so it can be removed easily for storage).
- Tie a length of bungee onto one side above the split ring, add the 20mm dog clip and clip it on to the kayaks nose carry handle. Tie the other end of the bungee to the mast on the other side. The bungee should be firm but not stretched.
- Do similar with the nylon cord looping it twice through each of the 12mm dog clips as this acts like a locking knot so the angle of the sail can be adjusted.
In order to stow the kayak sail pull the nylon guide lines towards you to lower the sail and secure using the Velcro ties. To release the sail undo the Velcro and the bungee will automatically pull the sail into the upright position. Then adjust the lines to catch maximum wind and speed.
Let me know if you need any further details, happy to help :)
If you find this helpful feel free to buy me a coffee.
