As in the past, all participants had a lot of fun racing the Cliff Island Olympics Fleet. 45 pounds Photo by John C. Harris John Harris was thinking of building a boat to my old EEEK experimental canoe, but wisely inquired if we'd had a better idea. Crude as it looks, it's all here, and he built the hulls for two of them over a weekend. He rigged them with spars and sails that happened to be on hand, but agrees with us that the designed gaff rig might be better. Speed is good.
Stability is surprising.
He thinks they're an improvement, to sail, on most kayaks, so-so with a double paddle. He substituted a drag link instead of the yoke and lines to foot pedals, indicated on the drawing, for more positive control. I have trouble with drag link tillers. With the designed foam, this boat floats high on her sides when swamped and is not hard to right, though getting back in after righting her must be acrobatic. Boats like this are a throwback to the 19th century sailing canoes, before racing forced canoers first up on the gunwale and later out on sliding seats.