If you want to take it to the next level and experience true sailing instead of just downwind sailing...no offense to anyone, so I will say better sailing instead...be sure to look at Falcon Sails. I have several posts in which I discuss Falcon sails, in the Clipper Sea 1 thread too. What you see in Watertribe is folks do it one time with a PAS, then they move on to a real sail (i.e. mast and boom style)...if they got a FEKS then maybe later they move up to a Falcon. Falcon sails are getting more and more common in Watertribe events every year.
Joe, from everything I have seen and read Falcon Sails seem to be the best kayak sail on the market, better than Flat Earth sails and far superior to Pacific Action sails. The Watertriber sail progression is a pretty good testimonial, and a Falcon Sail would be my choice if I was looking for a true next-level sailing experience.
But I’m not. My sailing needs and preferences are as peculiar as the rest of my paddling “style”. I am content with downwind only, and not interested in tacking upwind to a destination. I prefer to have something that I can install or remove on the fly, without leaving an upright mast, or even leaving a mast (battens) lashed horizontal on the deck as with the Pacific Action Sail.
Coldfeet, Spirit Sails are gone. The sail part and battens are still around in dealer stock and the mount, which is just a Scotty Rod base, is available. But the dealer stock of remnant Y-connectors seems to be zero. If you could find a 1sqm Pacific Action sail at a reasonable used price I’d try it. The PA sail is in many ways a superior design to the Sprit Sail, but the one I have is just too dang large/long to fit properly on the Monarch. Plus it is too much sail for my wimpy purposes, occasionally inducing puckering if not a full scale laundry emergency.
Something like the Spirit Sail, small enough to be easily stowed away and stepped while paddling, is a boon for my purposes. Since I have a permanent “mast step” (Spirit Sail mount/Scotty rod base) on the utility thwart I need only bring the Y connector piece and the stuff-bagged sail, which stow away easily at hand.
The Spirit Sails are so easy to use and compact to store that I bring one on every trip, even when I have little expectation of sailing.
Yeah, I know that is an above gunwales mess in the stern, but there is a portable toilet and wag bag bucket, tarp, poles and stakes, a couple of 10L dromedary bags, full sized wind chair, fire pan (and Fire in a Can), spare PFD and hiking staff back there. And a case of beer under the seat.
There is a load of gear under the bow cover as well, including a barrel, a 115L dry bag and a 30L drybag. And maybe more beer. Still plenty of freeboard and the trim is fine. I do like the Penobscot as a heavy hauler solo canoe.
Sometimes the SS never gets used. Maybe those dead calm conditions stem from the wind-killer fortunes of bringing a sail. I’ll take it, both the unused sail and the glass-like conditions.
