I am interested in getting a 14' transom-stern Sportspal and using the sail package on small lakes like Glenmore Reservoir. Between fishing.
1. I anticipate the wind shifting direction often, and sudden gusts. Is it possible to furl the Sportspal sail quickly?
2. Will I be able to tack?
3. I certainly don't expect this to be a high performance sailing machine, but could the Sportspal be sailed safely in anything beyond a gentle breeze?
I too am interested in this. There is plenty of info out there and a few websites. I am not a sailor but interested in it from what I understand you will need lee-boards in order to tack into the wind. Throw this into google and you will get a magazine website devoted to this topic. The lake I dream about doing this on is Maligne. Making it a trimaran or using one outrigger are possibilites as well. Someday...
It's a lateen sail of the type used on many small craft. I checked the sportspal site and it looks as if they package also includes leeboards.
Don't see why you couldn't tack, gybe, etc... though not much stability so you would have to be pretty careful. But there are plenty of sailing-specific canoes around.... guys have gone around the Horne in them...
They are a very light and broad beamed boat. It is possible to shoot ducks out of them, I can attest. As far as sailing them is concerned, I think that it would be pretty much a down wind proposition. The boat is made of very thin aluminium and draws very little water, thus it is easy to carry but gives up a lot of sailing capabilities. My friend's wife gave him a small outboard for his BD and I was there when he fired it up on his Sportspal. It seems that the torque from the 1.5 hp motor was enough to instantly flip the canoe. When the motor was attached to the other side of the boat things went much better. He eventually switched to an electric motor and it worked very well as a fishing boat. The only rub was now you had to carry batteries and they weighed as much as the boat. I recall that you could row it, but it is not really a sailing boat. A very safe stable platform yes, sailing no.
I looked online and could only find one picture of the sail kit. From my experience it looks might it might do OK. The Mast will be in the Front, the Sail is relatively small and is high up to give you room to sit and move because you will have to move to keep it upright. I doubt it could be furled quickly although you could probably rig it so that the Sail just drops when you want it too. I would think that tacking would be possible but a little tricky due to light weight and tippiness: you would have to sheet in, maintain speed while creeping up into the Wind, and shift your weight at the Right Time in order for it to work. The Mast alone will make the Canoe tippier with a higher centre of gravity and wind resistance. I would think it would be a light wind craft only due to all these factors.
I have a 17 1/2 ft Klepper (folding boat) with a Sloop (sails fore and aft of the Mast) Sail Rig which includes Lee boards and a Rudder. A Klepper is fairly broad in the Beam so I assume it's about the same Level of Stability as a Sportspal. The Main Sail does have a large Surface compared to the craft in IMO.
I have tried to sail it a few times in fairly calm winds and while fun, it was work. You have to lean out to your upwind side quite a bit (I am 6' and 220 Lbs) even in light winds to keep from tipping over. I also can't furl or collapse the Sail Rig easy enough or stow it aboard to fish etc so i haven't even tried.
Having sponsons instead of or in addition to leeboards may work.
I only bust out the sails when at the beach and just sailing: it probably can work and other Klepper Owners have got theirs to work but for me it's too much messing around with gear and gadgets and such so I just paddle. Heavier lee boards, a balance pole, sponsons, or a better rudder would help but I just haven't bothered. i have never tried out the front Sail Either as I haven't been able to find anyone willing to give it a bash.
There is a fellow at Glenmore who has a rowboat with a forward mounted leg of mutton (very simple) sail. If I had the $$ this is the kind of boat I would get for sailing & fishing although i am quite sure this particular boat was at least $10M (wood). It was perfect.
Sailing a Sportspal
Do they still make them?
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