Well, with so much of the past 12months spent in lockdown and off the water I have had plenty of time to think. And almost as much time to contemplate spending a little money.
I have been weighing up a couple of different sail kits on the market to help me travel a bit further during a session - namely Flat Earth and Falcon Sails (in the US). During my research I did come across another US company called KayakSailor. Turns out they are a husband and wife duo who just love sailing and make an all-in-one kit - including leeboards. And although others like Falcon Sails claim to be able to sail upwind perfectly fine, as the only kit that comes with the adage of leeboards it should minimize sideslip.
Well I finally pulled the trigger a couple of weeks ago and the parcel arrive 4days sooner than expected on the first day of lockdown
. Over the weekend I played around with some mounting positioning and will finalize positioning after an on the water test - when I get chance.
"In for a penny, in for a pound" considering I was already paying out a fair whack for this sail and I was already paying for shipping, I thought, "What the Hell" and purchased the genoa/jib sail they also do for this kit. It will be something I wont worry about initially using - at least until I get to grips with the main sail system - but I will look at fitting it once I gain a bit of experience:
First impressions is that its a very good bit of kit. Super compact when in its stowed position too. Has a reefed and full height setting - with this sail being 1.4sqm. With a Railblaza kit its a matter of dropping the frame onto the deck and locking the three railblaza mounts closed and you're all set.
Time will tell how the things perform and the types of speeds I can expect with sail alone as well as while paddling also.
Any questions, I'm happy to try and answer