Bob, thanks for your excellent reply. I bought my WindPaddle to use with my Freedom Hawks to help return to the launch sites. Once, I saw the new way to refold it, it works reasonably well for that use. Our afternoon winds are fairly predictable re direction. So if I do a little pre planning re fishing trips, I often have the wind at my back on the return. The WindPaddle is reasonably good for that on the Freedom Hawks.
We like our Oasis and prefer to pedal it. I was thinking about installing the WindPaddle Hobie attachment kit so my wife could use it up front on return trips with the wind at our back. She is the one with OCD and mild ADHD overlays and can get bored doing something simple like pedaling an Oasis from the front seat. So, it would give her something to do besides pedaling on return trips and thinking of things for me to do after we get back home.
A good friend and former family doc likes to sail, and he is an admitted OCDer and a hyper active adult. So, he loves sailing, and his rx for me, knowing me as a friend and as patient for over 3 decades, re sailing was, "Don't do it!"
Our two 40 something sons, if they decided to get into kayaking and get Hobies, would be perfect candidates for Hobie's well designed sail options.
fusioneng wrote:
Grampa Spey:
The sail looks interesting, but I get the impression that most Hobie Mirage kayak owners have no idea how much work went into the development of each Hobie Mirage kayak.
Since Hobie as a company is mostly interested in sailing, they make darn sure that every single mirage boat they build is not only a kayak, but also a very capable sailing machine. Designed from the ground up around the Mirage drive system, and also the Hobie sail, which is an available option for every boat that Hobie makes.
I know a little about sails ( I make a lot of my own), and have always admired the capabilities, ease of use, and quality of all Hobies sails for their kayak lines.
100 percent of all the Hobie Mirage kayaks have this capability, but if I had to guess not even ten percent of the owners even realize their Mirage kayaks are also very capable sail boats with the addition of the optional Hobie sail kit and have never even tried to sail them.
We have been using the Mirage kayaks for a very long time and have owned many of them. Without exception we have never gone out on the water without the sail furled up and attached to the side of the boat, in our mind taking a Mirage kayak out without the sail would be like driving your car with just 3 wheels (something is missing), but that's just us.
99% of the aftermarket kayak sails out there are downwind only (like putting an umbrella up), and many are actually more expensive than the Hobie sail kit. Nearly all of these aftermarket sail kits are designed for use on standard kayaks of any other brand none of which is designed from the ground up to be a sailing craft. Pretty much any add on sail for standard recreational kayaks is an afterthought and of course they work but I doubt any work well, and 99% of them are only for downwind.
Hobie's sail is the only one that I know of that is a fully capable sail capable of sailing any point of sail (including upwind). Another fine point is pretty much any sailboat in order to be able to sail up wind has to have either a keel or a daggerboard in order to be able to sail up wind. Guess what every single Mirage kayak sold includes the daggerboard at no charge directly from the factory (your mirage drive with the pedals pointed down).
If you need training wheels Hobie also sells a really nice set of pontoons that are inexpensive and can easily be added to any of their kayak line.
Most of us that kayak sail figured out quickly that having a furler on the Hobie kayak sail is a must. Before Hobie released their own furler most of us just made our own furlers out of 1 1/2" PVC pipe and attached them to the sails (they cost about a buck to make and take 15 minutes to build).
There are lots of aftermarket sail kits for kayaks available out there (mostly for the other brands trying emulate Hobies, and nearly all are more expensive than Hobies sail kit), but there is nothing out there that holds a candle to what Hobie delivers directly from the factory and designed from the ground up to be a capable sailing craft (never an afterthought), you only need just purchase the optional sail kit and have at it. In a couple hours of practice most everyone gets it, and never leaves home without the sail kit on the boat again.
Hope this helps
Bob