the sailyak - modify your kayak for sailing

Convert your ordinary kayak into a sailing rig for under a hundred bucks. Detailed description and plastic welding demonstration. GeoCities website at the end of the video no longer exists, sorry.

[@danieldudoit4616]

9 years later I just want to say that you are a DIY LEGEND sir.

[@coffeefish]

The flex in the mast is probably keeping you from capsizing. When the wind is strong and the mast flexes, that will de-power the sail. You add a stiffer mast and the boat will on it's side faster than you can say "oh shit."

[@vulkris]

This video inspired me so much. Taking old and broken things and making them into something new and functional.

[@yamascott]

Your camera work captured the details of your project really well. I like your innovation.

[@stevew278]

I wanted to say something 4 years ago but couldnt think of anything

[@cubanlock15]

Man, this is great. Highly detailed, easy to do, no major modifications, and I really appreciate that you didn't try to monetize it by selling plans or something. Thanks!

[@doctorcad1557]

Thanks for posting your video. It was one of the few I kept returning to on youtube for inspiration and ideas for my own rig which I finished about a month ago(video posted today). I really like what you did here and it helped me to build mine. This is a great way for people to have their own personal sailboat that can go on the car top and be launched with just one person. Great idea! Thanks again

[@kmattorney]

Wow...I am beyond impressed. I learned SO much about building and repairing (in general) from this one AWESOME creative invention. I have a 10 ft sit in Pelican and am thinking of some kind of sailing modification. Great idea!

[@michaelwebb8788]

I just bought a new kayak and was thinking about re-purposing my old one into a sail boat like this. Cool video and good ideas on display here for a DYI conversion. I was thinking about pedal rudder controls on mine. Thanks for the tips and tricks. Nice work!

[@Joewalshe38]

Brilliant. Love the way you used what you can find but still went to the trouble of doing it right.

[@RLZerr]

thanks. re-purposing is fun!

[@skyjss]

Excellent description and portrayal of how to make this thing work. Nice job!

[@RLZerr]

9 years and still sailing the same rig. Sail is a bit tattered now. I did change the rudder control mechanism. Shown in another video.

[@Audfile]

can you cross the ocean like this?

[@markquintonii]

Absolutely not, you won't be able to store enough food or water for such a long voyage on a 10 ft kayak. All these rec yaks were not really designed to deal with waves at all.

[@effyoo6081]

Audfile don't let some guy tell you you can't do it! YOU can do anything. What ocean are you crossing? I'll bet this would take me the 50 miles to the Bahamas from Wpb where I live. Would that not be "crossing ocean"?

[@Audfile]

Eff Yoo Bahamas, sounds nice. I live North to where if I jumped off my boat shirtless for a nice swim it would be instantly regretted and I'd be unconscious within 20 minutes.

[@alienfromirth]

Thanks for putting this up! It inspired me to hang on to my old rotomolded CD Squall and outfit the thing for sailing. Only kayak sailing I have done was when I lashed the 2 halves of my spare paddle together in a T and tied my rain parka to it...

[@makenchips]

Just awesome - love your invention ship and craftsmanship - applaud your efforts! I like your simple overview on how you used your plastic welder and methods. I wish other would take the time also. Great inspiration - when you don’t want to invest a lot of dollars in a craft that you are not going to use all the time but want to do the same - thanks

[@billybones58]

Brother, I like your style. Making something out of nothing. Bravo!

[@RLZerr]

John, you are right about depowering in gusts. I try to avoid sailing during unstable winds.

[@punasurf4697]

This is more complicated and larger than I need, but as a DIYer myself, you did an awesome job on this.

[@FortYort]

This is incredible! I wish I had the skills & tools to try this out...someday. Also very cool to see that wrecked boat out on the water.

[@RLZerr]

It finally got cleaned up and hauled off some years after the hurricane

[@Iaapwm]

Brilliant video, thank you,, from Lismore NSW Australia.

[@pattirayne1243]

Amazing job and love your choice of musical outro!

[@JohnDoe-lw3qn]

This is great. I may give this a try with my kayak. Thank you for sharing!

[@zoffinger]

Not often do I see someone rigging out a cheap kayak as well as I do ;)

[@Weeble_Warbles]

Lol I am not surprised to see you in this comment section. Did you ever make a kayak sailboat build?

[@gregwesthoff6206]

you did a great creating that sail rigging.

[@consumeless]

That's a really well done video, and a great project. I'll be using it as inspiration.

[@H202]

Fantastic job.you are the modern day Inuit, builing stuff from what is washed up on the beach great video.

[@crazycarlsworld]

cool dude i just bought a watkins 25 and keeo her at broosk landing and i am just learning to sail. your project is something i could use as a ship to shore device at a reasonable cost hope to see you out there soon ,crazy carl

[@satbum2850]

Very nice work.. I love your ingenuity. Thanks for sharing!

[@JadedTheDragon]

HEY Ft walton ! very nice I'm in Crestview now but enjoy those beaches every year with the kids.. pensacola beach moved me inland after hurricane Ivan '04, happy sailing see ya out there man.

[@unclejack123]

Very creative and well engineered project ...... JRW

[@dddave999]

Nice ideas to solve problems. Well done. Thanks for posting.

[@kitt2000car]

I'am doing something similar with my 8ft clinker style sailing dinghy. Adding a second sail which will act as a genoa. Zap strapped a second mast to the original one, As the new sail is taller then the main. Bow sprit and new mast made out of pcp pipe.

[@JosephMelia]

Great Job... You have inventiveness and skills,I don't know how you can keep upright without an outrigger while sailing though.I suppose,with your abilities it wouldn't be much of a challenge to add a leeboard and outriggers...Kudos to you sir.Good luck with it.

[@Pedroskini]

Wow, how cool is that ?! Great job, very ingenious.

[@chrisortiz2640]

Wow! This is amazing! Now I want to make one!

[@RLZerr]

good luck with it and hope it works out. I look at it, if you get tired of paddling the same open waters endlessly month after month, year after year, adding a sail to harness all that free wind energy can bring the enjoyment back.

[@1biskitrocksdrums]

Brother your a genius! !! Well done

[@1234superduper]

Nice sail rig. Good job.

[@fie1231]

have done something like that and have experimented with kayaks canoes windsurfers and dinghyes and rowing boats so this video was just wonderful and showed Im not crazy all alone lol very good -keep up the good work Michael Denmark 54

[@dixieoutlaw4x4]

great job! and excellent walk thru in the video!

[@nicholasnoble]

@RLZerr Awesome! I actually got a aluminum mast now, its 3/4" but I found out it still bends, I found a wooden dowel that fits so I shoved it in there and that did the trick.

[@redangelleo]

Great job! I love it when people invent their own freedom, and make it WORK!

[@MrJoeyBoombotz]

I enjoyed this video a lot. Very nice work.

[@davidmacleod7646]

Well done, ingenious and fun!

[@drewhon]

What a GREAT video. Thanks for sharing.

[@RLZerr]

some kayaks do come with sail fittings, the more expensive upper end models. This kayak was a simple $325 model from a local sporting goods store.

[@etwalgade]

This is awesome, I have been looking at doing something similar, and this was very helpful.

[@RLZerr]

When I first built this I did not have the orange 1 1/4" thick wall polyethylene conduit. The centerboard mount was a piece of 1 1/4" PVC pipe epoxied to an aluminum plate that was heated and slightly melted flat into the kayak. Extra polyethylene was melted and squeezed tight around the edges of the plate to seal it. this did eventually loosen and started leaking. Luckily shortly after that I found the conduit and replaced the assembly. I've picked up another scrap piece along a road recently.

[@PimDonatz]

i followed your idea by welding plastic. This way i made a clamp for the ruder, and hole and foot for the mast. regards, Pim see : kayak sailing pim

[@cristosanto815]

You are a genius my man! Thanks 🙏🏾

[@JosephMelia]

Great job...looks like fun too.

[@RLZerr]

No, never any leakage. Even at the part that is blocked from welding from the top due to the seat being in the way. Two plastic surfaces welded together is virtually just as strong as the material itself, and it is reinforced with extra polyethylene as shown, and welded again. It's never cracked, leaked or otherwise come lose in 7 years. It gets bumped by legs, feet, cargo, etc.. The top of the riser tube is over 2 inches higher than the water will come up even with a heavy load.

[@chasingwaves11]

Man that is awesome!!! Nice job man !!

[@Dave51262]

That really moves! Great ideas!

[@macrumpton]

Nice project, and really exceptional video. If you do change your rudder arrangement you might consider using a large door hinge for the pivot instead of the PVC. If you change the tiller on the rudder to a "T" and have the ropes go to the top ends of the "T" it should give you the leverage to get a sharper turn. It is quite impressive how well the boat sails!

[@tlsimpao]

Brilliant work! I've got to see how you built the rudder.

[@kimdannykim]

Very nice work and video

[@oldetavern]

Great idea and a well done video! Thanks for posting this :-)

[@Beyondthebackyard-au]

Very nice build.

[@crawford323]

I am quite fond of leeboards. Although more complicated, I think small leeboards would be rather fun and challenging.

[@davidhylton4305]

A wooden dowel inside the mast will stiffen immensely doesn’t have t be all the way 2/3 perhaps . I used that design in the seventies on homemade sail craft inside thin aluminum should work for plastic as well

[@RLZerr]

On plastic welding, a person could get by without a welder and plastic weld rod. Two polyethylene surfaces can be carefully heated to melt temperature and joined together for a superior bond. They MUST be the same grade of polyethylene though. You can join LDPE and HDPE (low density and high density polyethylene) but the bond will not be as strong. Most kayaks are HDPE. A plastic welder is best, but you can use a heat gun (larger areas) or a large magnifying lens (with dark shades and caution)

[@jimvette06610]

Try schedule 80 PVC for the mast, it's considerably stronger than schedule 40 from the hardware store.

[@RLZerr]

Sorry late response. The hickory rake handle fits tight in the 1" heavy duty PVC mast but it still flexes too much. It has never broken though. I'm still sailing with it but now have a two and a quarter inch diameter carbon fiber mast that tapers down towards the top. It came from an old windsurfer. I want to use the existing 1 1/4 mast mount but haven't figured the best way to adapt it. I've been looking at some aluminum and PVC fittings.

[@oldetavern]

Great video! Very well explained :)

[@RELAXPRIM]

Great job 👍

[@bigeeee334]

I didn't look to see how long ago you posted but a easy fix ( instead of carbon fiber mask or aluminum mask) could be to find some metal electrical conduit that fits inside your mask. That might help the flex and be cheaper than other fixes

[@mattybignose1858]

Really informative - thanks!

[@DPJ59]

Well done, and good job making video too. I am thinking of adapting an old Dagger Delta SOT kayak to have sailing capabilities, and may try to incorporate some of your ideas to fit with my own situation. I already own a Hobie Kayak sail (no longer have the Hobie kayak) that I would like to use for this.It has an aluminum mast that may solve the problems you've had with the flex in the pvc mast. (I understand part of your purposes was to do this with simple cheap materials). I need to find a way similar to yours to create a sleeve to insert the bottom of mast. I also own a rudder kit that I bought years ago (at great expense) and never used, that would replace the foot braces in the Dagger, for the steerage control. Not sure if I can use that or not, or if rudder size is adequate for sailing. If not, a version of your design may come in to play. A couple of things I wonder about with your design - I assume that you have to enter the kayak at a bit of depth in order to have the centerboard and rudder in place. Do you find this to be easy? Will one of the store bought outrigger accessories (with inflatable pontoons) sold for Hobies work as well as your centerboard? Or is a centerboard necessary to be able to tack up wind? (I have a lot to learn about the physics involved in successful sailing). Anyway, as I said, great video - I enjoyed watching. And thanks for taking the time to produce and share it with others!

[@RLZerr]

When I launch will set up in about 16 inches of water, put on the centerboard and rudder first, tip the kayak about 30 degrees to get at the bottom easy. Then grab the sail already assembled on shore and install it last. No problem getting in , sit down back first into the seat. You do need a centerboard of some kind to sail 90 degrees or up to 45 degrees into the wind. Tacking back and forth at 45 degrees or so you can zigzag upwind. Without a centerboard you will always end up downwind any direction you can sail.

[@ArthurSteagallConde]

Fantastic! easy to do and it really works...lets improve a sulution for its structural weakness at the centerboard (my sugestion)

[@RLZerr]

polyethylene. It's easy to weld. PVC is hard to weld as it's composition breaks down at temperatures just above it's melt point so is very tricky. You can weld ABS, Polypropylene and others with correct rod. PEX doesn't melt well and bond so don't use that tubing. Most kayaks are Polyethylene. Some are fiberglass. I've heard of Ram-X but have not played with it.

[@RLZerr]

@dmitrioguz Yes, that's why the extra layers and welds around the center riser pipe that holds the centerboard stem. Lots of force when at speed, as well as on the mast. The centerboard has broken off a few times and had to be repaired. Usually from running aground. I always have a PFD.

[@RLZerr]

Thanks for the great ideas!

[@hdrjunkie]

that sir, is really, really, cool! thanks!!

[@RLZerr]

in nice smooth winds that aren't kicking up whitecaps tacking is effective

[@brachino]

Thanks for sharing , Well done !

[@TheBeaker59]

Flex in the mast is a good thing as it would depower the sail in gusts making it easier to stay upright.personally I think the area needing most improvement would be sail shape and cut. Good looking project though I like the centerboard setup thats pretty cool.

[@RLZerr]

David, I am on the other side of town. I like to go kayaking / sailing in the sound

[@stevek4867]

excellent job

[@RLZerr]

Sorry late response. I've thought about changing the centerboard mount to a sleeve to fit the board so it can be pulled up to clear land and would be the strongest way to mount it. Just like in a Laser, Sunfish, Snark, etc. Successfully fabricating a functional sleeve from sheet polyethylene and welding it around a slot in the kayak would be a tough job with a small welder but is an idea to ponder, and I might just try it :)

[@starpilot101]

This is a good idea not sure why it's not sold as a mod kit. Or sailboat kayak hybrids. They are one of the most streamlined and easily steered boats perfect for small sails.

[@a7i20ci7y]

You could put lee-board slots on either side of the cockpit rather than penetrating the hull.

[@HighOnLife1985]

You just solved my rudder steering problem. *gets down on knees; bows* I'm not worthy.

[@RLZerr]

I'm thinking of enlarging the sail for more speed in low winds. I have a larger carbon fiber non-flexing mast now that I have yet to install. The current sail is about 29-30 sq feet now, maybe go larger as much as 40 sq feet without an outrigger. I want to keep it as simple as possible and feel confident body weight alone will keep it upright :).

[@moonolyth]

Great info on the pipe sizing.. a big deal for DYS. H.Freight has a good heating iron with blower. I'm surprised the JB is holding on to PVC did it work well for long?

[@ricardorios3232]

muy buena idea, felicitaciones desde España

[@davidworld2k6]

i love it best diy vid on sail modifying

[@gearhed3113]

great videos! one small correction though, HDPE is high density polypropylene, not polyethylene. polypropylene is a much more workable material, although very similar to polyethylene

[@RLZerr]

this is not a correct comment. Polypropylene is symbol "PP" Here is a reference page: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resin_identification_code

[@volentimeh]

plastic welding only works on thermo plastics, generally most softer recycle-able plastics, stiffer plastics that are formed by a chemical reaction (like epoxy resin) will burn if you try to plastic weld them, it's easy to check suitability in an inconspicuous area with a soldering iron, thermo plastic will melt around the tip, non thermo plastic will char and crumble.

[@dixee6498]

Nice work 😀

[@nicholasnoble]

I figured out that makeing a frame to place on top ot the kayak and using eyelets and cords to strap it down and then attatching leeboards using old cheep raft paddles worked a lot better that the center board on the bottom of the kayak.That way you can lift up the leeboards when you get in shallow water or in heavy weather. As for the support on the mast. If you screw in small eyelets into the the bow, starboard, port of your kayak, the attach a forstay and shrowds that would fix your stability

[@bongoslide]

Thinking you could use paddles as outriggers if you carry 4?As a white water kayaker I know how unstable a kayak can be.

[@RLZerr]

@PimDonatz Awesome! What kind of welder? I've also done a number of plastic welds on other projects using a large magnifying or Fresnel lens and sunlight. And a pair of VERY dark sunglasses! Must be careful as it can quickly overheat and burn so practice on scrap.

[@electrichospital]

Well done and very creative. How have you changed it since your initial design? Or how would you make it more robust other than stiffen the mast and boom? How does it point into the wind compared to Snark or Sunfish? Thanks for sharing.

[@RLZerr]

Unstable winds have caught me off guard and have stressed the boom fitting on the mast to where it broke, thus the reinforcement. an outrigger would be nice as sitting to one side inside a kayak can get uncomfortable. I did this project as a ultra simple and cheap sailing 'yak and as long as winds are 5-10mph it works great and is a load of fun.

[@dand997]

That’s great. I might try this for my kayak. But I need outriggers. I don’t want to flip

[@ymanganelli]

Great job!!!

[@RLZerr]

@nicholasnoble I inserted a wooden rake handle through the mast. Bought at Lowe's. It's still not as rigid as I'd like so if I was to do it again I'd spend some extra money and buy aluminum pipe for the mast. Ace Hardware has it.

[@jameschang4341]

Very nice and fun too

[@jjseandxcefree]

so basically it appears if you use the sail your kayak gets super tippy and you need the pontoons?

[@ScrambyEggs123]

I love it! gets my brain gears turning for project ideas for my kayak! is it easy for you to tack upwind in this?

[@Radnally]

Very elegant design. Would outriggers help at all?

[@SirDrinksAlot69]

The rear rudder would probably be better if you put a wheel on the top and wrapped the rope around it. Then you would get nearly 180deg rotation in it, limited by the input method used and depending on size you can adjust the torque involved too. You mentioned a lot of things you would have done differently, perhaps this can be added when you do 2.0