Kayak Sailing

Pedal or paddle kayaks seem to be the most popular in the world of kayak fishing but what about kayak sailing?  Can kayak sailing and fishing coexist or is it too difficult?  I went to the Bay Area Paddlefest a little over a month ago and was surprised to see kayaks sailing all over the place.  It seemed to be a lot more popular than I originally thought.  So, who else out there fishes with a sailing kayak and what are the pros and cons / best kayak for a sail?

For the Hobie Adventure Island...

Pros - increased range, more fish species to target, expanded methods of fishing, comfort, safety and flexibility of the platform.

Cons - cost, complexity and transportation/launching limitations/concerns.

If you put a sail on it it is no longer a Kayak it's a Sailboat and you have to register it.

Can kayak sailing and fishing coexist or is it too difficult?

Yes they can, and I predict they will!!!

-Allen

Ok, I definitely didn't think about the registration part of it.  Is that true or are you just pullin my chain?  In ether case the pros of a sail still seem good enough to look into it and give it a try.  I'm betting its a hell of a lot of fun too.

it IS a hell of a lot of fun...and yes you have to register it.

so far- and i'm only a few months into my AI, any added complexity is well worth it

   I came very close to plucking 3 K on one...  ( Hobie )    I love sailing... and that is an excellent design.  Sail easily furls, it's fast and easily assembles.
    If I ever make enough money selling Raptors...  I'm getting either that or the Wind Rider someday.

  Some states you have to register all kayaks.

While I'm completely against the idea of having to register a kayak for any reason......its twenty bucks every two years, after being towed around by chuck at the pif I've made two conclusions, the AI is an absolute blast to play on and chucke has the best toy collection I've seen or heard of 

Hey Flounder Pounder.  I was at that last Bay Area Paddlefest working at Hobie, and I also notice more kayak sailing rigs and accessories.  It was a very windy weekend and ideal for demonstrating the benefits of having a sail on a kayak.  One of the sail kits I saw was designed to be mounted on just about every kind of kayak.  There was even one mounted on a OK Prowler 15.

The Hobie booth had an Adventure Island and a Tandem Island available for demos.  Those two rigs kept me busy since everyone wanted to try'em.

We're just beginning to see the combination of kayak sailing and fishing up here, but the guys in Hawaii, Australia, and SoCal have been using them offshore for a few years now.  With faster trolling speeds, guys are successfully trolling for tuna, dorado, and sailfish.

PROS
+ Faster trolling speeds
+ Extended range
+ More stability
+ More deck space with the use of tramps
+ More fishable in windy and rough conditions
+ Easy sailing for beginners
+ Lots of fun even if the fish aren't biting

CONS
- More expensive
- More rigging lines and other stuff to manage in addition to fishing gear (multi-tasking is req)
- Additional weight
- Need at least 5mph of wind to benefit from the sail power
- More complicated beach launches and landings
- Wet ride (without tramps or spray shield).

Out of curiosity chuck....have you (or heard of anyone) landing it in good sized surf yet?  Seems it would track straight with the ama's and and just get washed over instead of getting sideways.  thoughts?

after being towed around by chuck at the pif I've made two conclusions, the AI is an absolute blast to play on and chucke has the best toy collection I've seen or heard of 

Yeay you right!!!

 

Thanks again Chuck!!

 

Sincerely,

Jim

Agarcia,

Some people who have sailed these (AI's) on long distance trips (with many surf landings) find that the best method for bringing the boat in on bigger surf involves sliding out of the seat and hanging on/guiding from the rear cross bar as the wave is bringing the boat in. Your body acts like a sea anchor but with an element of control.

That Yakass dude on youtube (from Australia) seems to surf the boat in kinda diagonal w/the waves. He's the best, but even he dumps it sometimes. He does get out of the boat well before it arrives on the beach though and kind of walks it in.

You might be able to go in strait if the break isn't sharp and the waves are small. I would imagine you could easily pole vault the whole rig if the surf was big and the break was sharp. Not pretty... 
 

I bought a V-sail a few years ago.  It's cheap, lightweight thing that works best for downwind tacks.  I bought it for salmon trolling, where I launch upwind and troll down to some takeout place.  I've used it a few times for that, but not that much recently.  Unfortunately, unless the salmon are balled up I get bored as crap trolling for them.  I'd rather bottom fish.

Even cheap sails and those spinnaker things work pretty well if you need to cover a lot of distance going some angle off of downwind.

Here are some of cool kayak sailing & fishing vids:


Hobie AI Trip to Catalina


Adventure Islands in Hawaii


Fully Rigged Hobie AI


Yakass Hobie AI Fishing Shot - pilot

ChuckE,

Those videos make me want to buy another one! They're just too much fun.

I hadn't seen the Hawaii one before. Comforting to know the seafaring abilities of these rigs in big water.

Karl