Wow, I have a Lazer and prefer the canoe at this time.
Isn't the boat a great metaphor for freedom?
Ron

"Rodney Myrvaagnes" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 1 Sep 2004 06:40:24 -0400, "Ron" wrote:


"William R. Watt" wrote in message
...

P.C. Ford ) writes:

Very important. With such a tiny draft movement with the boat can
even
make the boat come about. A traditional boat in the Northeast,
(Thousand Islands area, I'm spacing the name.) was sailed without a
rudder. Coming about was accomplished by movement within the boat.

So loading the canoe and moving the people is part of sailing the canoe.
With kids I've learned you lean one way and point the other as you say
"look
at that".

I've seen photos and a description of the annual St Lawrence skiff
races.
They were long narrow rowing boats with auxilliary sails. During the
races the boat were tacked without rudder or paddle by heeling to
leeward
and moving forward to depress the bow which I guess might lift the
stern
shortening the waterline length to ease pivoting the hull.

So loading involves leaving room to move yourself or others to steer.
This
is getting more interesting all the time. The canoe has three cross
members
and two fixed seats (not used when sailing). I like the idea of having a
crew to help steer. I'm going to teach a whole new generation because it
is
not going to be a lost art.


Good luck with your experiments. Sailing canoes were very popular in
the 19th century. Don't understand why they are not more popular now.
Myself, I would rather sail than paddle!!

I appreciate the variety sailing adds to a canoe. Carrying a sailing
rig
in a boat which is portaged is a nuisance which I try to overcome with
the
simplest most compact removable rig I can dream up. Paddling allows a
person to look around which is nice along the shore and on rivers, and
to
read and run fast water. Sailing requires constant attention to the
sail
due to changing strength and direction of the wind. Playing the wind is
a
nice change from paddling and it is more insteresting on open water
where
paddling in a wind is both tiring and boring. A terrific combination
IMHO.

I find that going out on the same water most of the time I don't see
much
new and interesting along the shore and tend to do more sailing.
However I
do like to explore creeks and rivers under paddle power.

My biggest issue is getting the time and interest of the kids to go out
exploring. I've used food and try to make it fun but competition is
tough
(going to the YMCA or local amusement park instead). I hope that the
excitement of sailing will get them. We got towed upwind on our local
lake
and they enjoyed that but I saw it as a failure of my ability to sail
upwind, hence all my questions. We do paddle or float down the Little
Miami River. We don't have two way rivers (without alot of tracking and
hard paddling) around here.

There is a huge difference between upwond sailing in a
purpose-designed sailboat and an afterthought sailing rig on a boat
designed for something else. To be fair to these kids, you must expose
them to real sailboats, which doesn't mean big and expensive.

Lasers, 420s, Larks, and Flying Juniors are real sailboats.



Rodney Myrvaagnes NYC J36 Gjo/a

"Religious wisdom is to wisdom as military music is to music."