Yep, the aft seat is too much towards the back so the bow will be too high if used solo. The built in seats do contribute structurally. Anything does really in these boats having little internal framing. Making the seat movable is possible, but difficult to construct nicely. When sailing, I use a cross seat that rests on the gunwales in front of the aft seat. When paddling, I either kneel in the middle of the boat when using a single blade paddle or a removable seat when using a double blade paddle. The idea for me was to keep this boat as multi-purpose as possible.

@@joostengelen8487 so isn't it appropriate to build kombi without the fixed seats? Will it compromise it's structural integrity?

@@gregory1778, this is best checked with the designer Michael Storer. Typically when seats are left out of a canoe, a spreader is put in to make it a bit stiffer and less prone to twisting. Probably not needed when leaving out the front seat as the mast partner is just aft of it. But there is a lot of boat between the transom and the mast partner. Not sure whether there is much benefit leaving out the fixed seats: they do not weigh much and are needed when paddling 2-up. They also do not get in the way with solo-use really.

@@joostengelen8487 I am pretty sure that if I make it ,I will use it 90% solo, so two fixed seats, which will rarely been used, don't seem good to me. I will aske Michael for alternative configuration, thanks a lot for you answers Joost

The whole idea here is to show that, in the hands of a capable paddler, the boat can be paddled very nicely with a single bladed canoe paddle only without using the rudder and centerboard.

The Viola is more stable and the better sailboat. The Viola was 100% designed as a sailing very lightweight sailing dinghy. Paddling was not a consideration at all. For the Kombi the starting point was different: it had to sail well enough but should be nice to paddle (the last will impact stability as the boat is less wide and has a different hull shape facilitating paddling).

The paddler (not me - it is my boat however) knows his stuff. If you are a paddler, you will not have a problem. If you are not a paddler, it is not the easiest boat to learn how to J-stroke in but certainly possible.

Sitting on the rail. The rail is a bit wider than typical on a canoe aimed only at paddling. The gunwales measure 19mm, the inwales and inwale spacers both 15mm (the boat has scuppered rails) and the plywood has a thickness of 4mm. So total width of the rail is 53mm. The top side has been rounded over and it makes it quite comfortable to sit on.

Dat is moeilijk aan te geven. Veel hangt af van het vaarwater (hoogte van de golven), of de wind vlagerig is of niet, vaarkunnen, etc. Bft. 5 zou voor een geoefende zeiler geen probleem moeten zijn, mits je 1 of 2 reven gestoken hebt. Vorig zeilseizoen heb ik helaas de kano niet bij meer wind kunnen testen (een dikke Bft. 3 max). Eenzelfde kano in Australie heeft regelmatig met een dikke Bft. 5 gezeild met een volledige kampeeruitrusting aan boord. Er zitten 2 reven in, dus het zeil kan een heel stuk kleiner gemaakt worden (volledig zeiloppervlak 5.04 m2, eerste rif 4.09 m2, tweede rif 2.95 m2). Het leuke aan deze boot is dat het een mix is van een peddelkano en een zeilkano. Peddelend met 1 of 2 personen gaat het behoorlijk vooruit (7 km/uur solo in een uur peddelen). Zeilend is het zeker geen langzame boot (de romp heeft weinig weerstand en er staat best veel zeil op).

Sitting here on/near the centerline due to the light winds. When the winds pick up, one will sit on the rail hiking the boat with one foot hooked under the center spreader. The Kombi plans provide for various rudder arrangements with a choice between a fixed rudder or lifting rudder and rope steering, classic dinghy tiller steering (shown in the video) and push/pull tiller steering. I actually made a second rudder cassette (the rudder blade will fit this cassette also) with 2 x 90 degree short arms on either side of the cassette that can be rigged for rope steering or push/pull tiller steering. I have not had time yet to test this arrangement though. Having a dinghy sailing background, I expect that I prefer the classic dinghy tiller with tiller extension.

Well, if your boating will include a lot of paddling, the Kombi may be a better design. It is simply much easier and faster to paddle. The Viola is harder to keep on course with the ends of the boat clearing the water. The Viola is much more stable however and easier to sail.

Well, it is actually a "she" sailing the boat. 🙂 I do not have any instruction videos on how to sail. The principles are the same for a sailing canoe as for other small sailboats. There are plenty of instruction videos to be found on KZbin. If a complete beginner, best to take some sailing lessons.

@@joostengelen8487 I have a very basic knolage just not on sailing into the wind

@@richardduvall6512 without being unkind, you can regard your knowledge as virtually zero. To start, read a good instruction book. Then watch some KZbin videos. Then get someone to take you out and give you the basics. You could also join a sailing club. Many have training programs. Or go on a course. You could do trial and error, but that can result in quite a lot of error including risk of drowning. Hope that helps.

@@barrydavies2977 thank you I knew I didn't know much I have been on a sail boat and helped tie off lines but that's about it thanks again I'll look for a local club

kzbin.info/www/bejne/pJzWqZyclKl3ors

It took a bit over two years from the start of building the boat. But the build was hampered by an injury preventing me to work on the boat for almost one year and the cold in winters (too cold here in the Netherlands to do any epoxy coating and glassing). I was building the prototype which also slows things down a bit. There are also a fair bit of things to make next to the hull (rudder, lee board, spars, etc.). I really have no clue. Maybe 160 hours including painting/varnishing?

Well Andy, it is as fast as a Laser 1. Hull weight only just over 30 kg and home built in plywood. If you find a Laser slow or inefficient, start looking at catamarans or the international canoe. Or the foiling Moth. All not boats you can build yourself for under USD 2000 fully rigged.

Looks slow when heading toward the camera and telephoto has that effect. Here's a video at a better angle to see the speed. It does look slow too until the boat is side on to the camera. Then you can see what is really happening kzbin.info/www/bejne/d3zZZIeCm7p6q68

De doorgelatte mylar zeilen zijn efficienter (krachtiger voor het zeiloppervlak) en sneller, zeker op aan de windse en halve windse koersen. Voor heen en weer knallen over de plas gebruik ik dan ook altijd de mylar zeilen. Het 4.7 m2 zeiltje wordt veruit het meeste gebruikt. Het 6.0 m2 zeil is eigenlijk iets te groot, 5.5 m2 zou ideaal zijn (vergelijkbaar met het standaard 7.06 m2 laser zeil). Voor tochten gebruik ik het loggerzeil omdat het zo makkelijk te strijken en te reven is. Het mastje is ook met een hand naar beneden te halen. Hoe groot is het verschil? Moeilijk in cijfers weer te geven. De doorgelatte zeilen voelen sneller en "harder". Het loggerzeil is wat "zachter" (vergevingsgezinder).

@@joostengelen8487 Dank voor de uitgebreide reactie. Ik heb net een loggerzeiltje gemaakt voor mijn opblaaszeilkano/catamaran Briesje ,vanwege het makkelijker te reven en te strijken tuig. Mijn indruk van diverse filmpjes van loggerzeilers was dat er ook behoorlijk snelheid in zit mits je de giek goed strak kunt trekken bij de mast. Ik moet'm nog uit gaan proberen.

No longer videos. The boat does appear in a couple of videos by fellow canoe sailor Koos Winnips: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nWbPp415mbONsM0 kzbin.info/www/bejne/fpy2hpdrhaZpp9U The lug rig works fine in strong winds. The approach is a bit different in comparison to the fathead sails where you flatten the sail in stronger winds having the top twist away. With the lug rig you tie in a reef adjusting the size of the sail to the windspeed. Not sure what particular information you are looking for. Ultimately it does not matter much from a handling perspective whether I am sailing the fathead sail or the lug rig. The lug rig does feel softer. It goes upwind very well, also reefed and it will see you planing on a (beam) reach. Downwind sailing is also not much of a problem. The lug rig is very easy to handle on this boat, also because it is still rather small (6.3 m2) with short spars. Much easier to handle than the almost 10 m2 on my Goat Island Skiff!

The boat was designed as a body hiked very light weight dinghy (hull weights can be achieved below 30kg). When mounting a sliding seat, you are able to carry larger rigs and thus have more power available. The boat's structure (all 4mm plywood) would have to be made stronger and the same applies to the rig as to withstand the forces. So it becomes an arms race.

That is an Artemis Sailing Canoe designed by Axel Schmid.

That's me filming ;)

Well, reefing is where the sprit rig drops points. The Viola 14 lug sail has 3 reefs and they are needed in stronger winds. Further, when stepping the sprit rig one has to handle the weight of the entire rig (mast + sail + sprit). The Viola 14 is only 100cm wide and very light weighing just over 30kg for the hull so that would be tricky. Also the lug rig performs better. The hull being very narrow and almost double ended (the boat has a tiny transom), the sheeting angle on a sprit sail will be pretty bad. When fitting a boom, you would have to deal with that complicating matters a lot. In short, I disagree for this particular boat.

Sprit rigs can work well if they are relatively small - as auxiliary power and are very easy to set up a derig in that size. But not in this size range. The sprit sails do lose a lot of efficiency if set up boomless particularly downwind - but still better than paddling a conventional canoe - so in that case they make sense in small sizes for canoes. But getting up towards 70 square feet (6.3sqm) for real sailing performance the sprit rig is unwieldy in raising and dropping, (definitely safer on wider boats!) , and very complicated to reef as Joost points out. There is an option of "scandalising a sprit for an emergency reef (by releasing the snotter) - good for scurrying to shore but no good at all if you have somewhere to go a long way upwind or are in a light canoe. The balance lug is much much better to reef and quick downwind as well as up.

Not sure what you want to know exactly. The lug rig has the advantage of being easily reefed. So if the wind pipes up, just reduce sail to the conditions. The large fathead sail is more powerful than the lug rig. The lug rig has the advantage of a slightly lower CoE and is easier to keep upright. I have sailed the lug rig up to a full Bft. 6 without any problem.

Joost Engelen - Sorry for not being clearer. I meant, in the same wind as on this video, would the lug rig propel the boat to the same speed? I remember on the WoodenBoat forum, you said that the large mylar sail would allow the boat to plane upwind in 20 knots of wind. Will the lug rig also plane upwind, assuming the conditions are suitable? I ask because I’m currently building a Viola 14 but haven’t settled on a particular rig yet.

It performs very well in heavier airs. The sail has 3 reefs, so you can set the correct area for the conditions. I have sailed the boat in 25+ knots of wind.

Joost Engelen Sounds good. I saw a photo with the third reef in. Under full lug, how much wind do you need to get the boat planing? How long did it take you to complete the hull and get sailing? Thanks for your insight. I love this boat. Looking for something that I can throw on my roof, rig quickly, and get sailing

@@seanmccambridge, I only used the third reef once in a sailing event. This was on a river with strong winds (Bft. 6) against a 3 knots current which caused for very confused waves. When things eased up, I kept the reef (was still overtaking the other boats in the fleet). The first and second reefs I have used often. It is very easy to hoist the sail and lower the rig on the water, so this is the rig used for making tours and raiding. As to when the hull goes planing: difficult to say since it depends on whether you are loaded up with gear or not. Bft. 3 definitely sees you planing on a reach. It is a very light narrow hull, so not much power is needed to get you moving. I built the prototype, so that took a lot longer than it would normally take (we were still figuring some details out along the way). Some have build the boat in a few months time and it goes together relatively quickly. There is not that much involved in building her when looking at the number of parts involved. But like with any sailboat, you are only half way through when you are done with the hull with the spars, foils, rudder box. etc. to make. I hope the above helps.

Joost Engelen Very much so. Thank you!

There are a couple of videos on my channel showing the boat with the large rig. Three dedicated rigs have been designed for the boat: a 6.3 m2 lug sail, a 6.0 fathead sail (the one shown in the video) and a 4.7 m2 fathead sail. This is one of the videos showing some sailing with the fathead sail: kzbin.info/www/bejne/d3zZZIeCm7p6q68

The canoe measures 14 ft (425cm) by 40 inches (100cm). Hull weight is 34 kg. There are 3 rigs available: 2 fathead rigs (4.7m2 and 6.0m2 - the larger one in action in this video) as well as a balanced lug rig (6.3m2 with 3 reefs - the fathead sails both have 1 reef). More information can be found here: www.storerboatplans.com/plan/viola-14-sailing-canoe/viola-sailing-canoe-plan-coming-soon-rooftop-sailing-dinghy/

Sorry, only now reading your comment (possibly the question went into my spam box). Probably people find me a skilled sailor, but I have not raced dinghies since I was a child. The boat is very stable for its narrow width and easily handled. The big 6.0 sail is a lot more difficult to handle in comparison to the smaller 4.7m2 one (a bit like the Laser 1 versus Laser Radial). No sure what you mean by "build & test" by agreement. I am certainly not paid to build and test it! I approached the designer (MIchael Storer) with the idea for this boat and he designed it. I built the prototype and obviously sail it and report back on my findings. Plans are available now!

Yes, there are 3 reefs in the sail.

This is a Michael Storer design. 425 cm long and 100 cm wide. The design is called Viola 14. There are 3 rigs available, the lug rig presented here, a large 6m2 mylar fathead sail and a smaller 4.7m2 mylar fathead sail (see other videos) making the boat very versatile. Just pick the rig best suited to what you plan to do with the boat / prevailing conditions. Michael is still finalising the plans.

Joost Engelen : I've seen & admired " Beth", BUT the new design I'd sure like to see more of to study. MSD rowboat looks good too for a quick build. I would already have purchased the drop- in- sail but I find it unaesthetic as a shape to put on a small hull.