sailing the sport with amas

I have the Sport with the standard sail. It works great, except in gusty winds I tend to capsize alot. How effective are the sidekick amas with the Sport? Are they durable enough to use in moderate chop? Do they help with upwind pointing ability? Also, do you have to drill holes in the hull for insallation? Thanks for any input.

I have a Revolution and use the side kicks when sailing. They work great. I have never flipped it using them. I think you would really have to work at it to do so. But I only sail on lakes, not the ocean. It also makes it easier to get back in if you get out to swim or dive.

They have three settings for height. I use the high setting with light wind and middle setting for 15+ mph wind.
I only use the low setting for standing up in the kayak to fish. And I only do it because I can.

You will need to drill 4 holes, 2 each side to mount. They come with well nuts but some have had them pull out. I bolted mine when they were installed. I think they were 1/4" SS bolts, washers and lock nuts.

Hope that helped.
Bruce

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Everything before 60 is just a rehearsal!

G'day jhart,
I have no experience with the Sidekicks on a Sport but I have recently fitted a set to our Oasis and based on only the few times I've been out with them I can recommend them. They take that 'capsize worry' away and allow you to enjoy sailing.
What I like about them on the Oasis is that when in the high position you can keep them out of the water by leaning so they don't actually slow you down. We haven't done any rough stuff with them yet.
Like Bruce, I did use through bolts with large washers to mount the crossbar as the well nuts can pop out.
If you want to improve sailing upwind Turbo fins in the down position allow you to point a little higher.
If you look in the sailing forum you will see many posts if you search for sidekicks. I think Apalach may have posted about fitting outriggers to his Sport?

Hey jhart,
Another option is to make your own amas/sidekicks/outriggers. Here's how.

Since the rear gunwale was not accessible, I finally decided to try to get inside the hull thru the forward hatch. Now, I had originally thought that this would be a terrible place to mount outriggers since they might interfere with the paddle stroke. Turns out I was mistaken on that count. No problems with the paddle interfering with the forward mounted outriggers, as it turned out. Besides, in a Hobie Mirage I have found that once I get underway I rarely use my paddle anyway, except to back down occasionally, as well as to launch and land.

Several years ago, KFS's Joey came up with the marvelous idea of using RAM rocket launcher rod-holders to hold PVC arms upon which one could mount lobster pot buoys for outrigger floats. Based on the first reports from others who were attempting this on other makes of boats, I decided to try this for the first time on the Outback. To prevent hull flexing and possible damage, it seemed that a stiff metal backing plate would be necessary to serve as a giant �washer� beneath the hull and the RAM mount. Lowe's and Home Depot both sell a 1/8� thick 3 foot long, 2 inch wide piece of flat aluminum stock. I cut off a piece of this on my band-saw that was just slightly larger than the RAM ball base diameter, as you can see in the first pic below.



I then used the RAM ball base as a template to drill four 13/64� holes thru the aluminum backing plate. The pic shows the backing plate at the left with the four Nylock nuts that we used to secure the RAM ball. I didn't want to have any holes in the hull that would be large enough for water entrance, so I chose a 11/64� bit for the actual hull drilling. This provides a tight enough fit for the four 1 inch #10 SS machine screws so that one has to actually use a Phillips head screwdriver to drive the machine screws into the hull. The RAM ball is already in position just ahead of the port-side, forward gunwale tray with the four screws already in place inside the hull. My son then reached thru the forward hatch to maneuver the backing plate up around the machine screws that had penetrated the hull. This turned out to be trickier than I thought, and I had to back off several of the screws so he could position the backing plate up flush against the underside of the hull. He then had to maneuver the Nylock nuts onto the screws, and get them started by hand. He used a 1/4 inch ratchet to tighten/hold the Nylock nuts, while I held/turned the screws from above with the Phillips screwdriver. To make a long story short(er), we finally got all four nuts into position and snugged them into place to provide a pretty solid mount.



Note the final position of the first RAM ball on the deck just ahead of the forward, port-side gunwale tray containing the anchor. We then mounted another RAM ball on the starboard side, as above. The unattached RAM rocket launcher/outrigger and hand clamp is to the left. I used a file to roughen up the rubber coating on the ball so as to provide more friction for the clamp. Once the clamp is snugged down, you can actually pick up the entire boat by the RAM tube alone, and it won't slip. Next is a pic of the final installation with the outrigger attached, looking towards the stern.



Here is a closer view of the entire outrigger. The thick-walled PVC arm is 1 1/4 inches in diameter and 30 inches long. The lobster pot buoys are from Hamilton Marine in Maine and are 5x11 inches in size. I have been using these on my Outback for over a year now. They work great, and are extremely easy to attach and remove using the single clamp on the side of the RAM tube. They are especially useful for providing excellent stability when sailing as well. The 5x11 inch size works just fine, so there is no need to go to the larger 6x14 inch size lobster pot buoy that is a lot bulkier, as well as being harder to store and transport.



Follow the same plan for the starboard outrigger/ama--have fun!

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jhart
go for the sidekicks. The boat becomes a "dock" with them attached. Muy wife has them on her revolution and they work great. We use the kayaks in the pacific ocean with no problems.

Thanks everybody for your input. I will definitely get the sidekicks after hearing your positive responses.