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Pontoon Boat Conversion to Sailboat
I know this is an out-of-the box type question, but has anyone had any
experience with or have any ideas or comments on the thought of taking a standard aluminum pontoon boat and rigging sails on it? I know it would be slow, but sort of looking for that old Spanish Gallion effect (slow, steady, using no fuel). Any thoughts on how to rig it, connect masts, and how it might sail? Thoughts on a keel(s) or other method of allowing it to tack properly against the wind? Is this even a possibility given the physics? Boat would be used on a large lake in Texas. -- Posted at author's request, using moderated http://www.BoatForumz.com interface Thread archive: http://www.BoatForumz.com/Pontoon-Bo...pict21774.html |
Pontoon Boat Conversion to Sailboat
On Sat, 15 Nov 2008 13:22:43 -0600, lowe210 wrote:
I know this is an out-of-the box type question, but has anyone had any experience with or have any ideas or comments on the thought of taking a standard aluminum pontoon boat and rigging sails on it? I know it would be slow, but sort of looking for that old Spanish Gallion effect (slow, steady, using no fuel). Any thoughts on how to rig it, connect masts, and how it might sail? Thoughts on a keel(s) or other method of allowing it to tack properly against the wind? Is this even a possibility given the physics? Boat would be used on a large lake in Texas. Sure, you can put sails on anything and it will work... Perhaps something else would work better but it will work. First things first: You need a mast. There will be fairly high loads applied on the mast and the rigging that holds it up, so: You need to decide (1) what you are going to sit the mast on, and (2) where you are going to attach the two shrouds (that run to the sides of the boats) and the stays (that run to the front and rear of the boat). Next you need to decide how big a sail and what kind you are going to mount. Probably, some sort of conventional main and jib sail will be the simplest to get working. Finally, you need to decide where to attach the "sheets", the lines(ropes) that hold the corner of the sail, will go. After you get that done and see how she goes then you may want to rig some sort of "center board" or perhaps "lee boards" (the same thing as a center board but hung over the side of the boat). It probably won't be fast and it probably won't be pretty and it probably won't out sail an America's Cup racer, but it will be fun. Let us know how it all works out. Cheers, Bruce (bpaige125atgmaildotcom) |
Pontoon Boat Conversion to Sailboat
On Nov 16, 6:22*am, lowe210 wrote:
I know this is an out-of-the box type question, but has anyone had any experience with or have any ideas or comments on the thought of taking a standard aluminum pontoon boat and rigging sails on it? I know it would be slow, but sort of looking for that old Spanish Gallion effect (slow, steady, using no fuel). Any thoughts on how to rig it, connect masts, and how it might sail? Thoughts on a keel(s) or other method of allowing it to tack properly against the wind? Is this even a possibility given the physics? Boat would be used on a large lake in Texas. -- Posted at author's request, using moderatedhttp://www.BoatForumz.cominterface Thread archive:http://www.BoatForumz.com/Pontoon-Bo...oat-ftopict217... I also don't feel technically on top of this unique problem, but you may be interested to look at a book by Todd Bradshaw called Canoe Rigs ... In it he describes a structure which just gets clamped between the gunnels, and has a mounting for the mast in the centre, and mountings for the leeboards on each side. The canoe can therefore be easily rigged and removed with almost no fixed rigging. It seems to me that this might be a good first step as a trial to see if it worked well enough to continue experimenting. I realise a Canadian canoe will probably be a lot smaller than the boat you are looking at converting, but I thought the general principle might work. I am at work just now so I can't give you the page number from the book. Best wishes. Norm |
Pontoon Boat Conversion to Sailboat
On Sat, 15 Nov 2008 13:22:43 -0600, lowe210 wrote:
I know this is an out-of-the box type question, but has anyone had any experience with or have any ideas or comments on the thought of taking a standard aluminum pontoon boat and rigging sails on it? I know it would be slow, but sort of looking for that old Spanish Gallion effect (slow, steady, using no fuel). Any thoughts on how to rig it, connect masts, and how it might sail? Thoughts on a keel(s) or other method of allowing it to tack properly against the wind? Is this even a possibility given the physics? Boat would be used on a large lake in Texas. A pontoon boat is in some ways ideal for sail propulsion. The hull form is low drag forward, and high drag sidewards. That's the good news. The wide base provides a good initial heeling resistance without adding a deep keel. But the bad news is handling the mast. If it is placed centrally between the pontoons, some serious structure is needed to resist the down load. Attaching the stays and shrouds is not such a big deal, I'd think Brian W |
Pontoon Boat Conversion to Sailboat
Brian Whatcott wrote in
: On Sat, 15 Nov 2008 13:22:43 -0600, lowe210 wrote: I know this is an out-of-the box type question, but has anyone had any experience with or have any ideas or comments on the thought of taking a standard aluminum pontoon boat and rigging sails on it? I know it would be slow, but sort of looking for that old Spanish Gallion effect (slow, steady, using no fuel). Any thoughts on how to rig it, connect masts, and how it might sail? Thoughts on a keel(s) or other method of allowing it to tack properly against the wind? Is this even a possibility given the physics? Boat would be used on a large lake in Texas. A pontoon boat is in some ways ideal for sail propulsion. The hull form is low drag forward, and high drag sidewards. That's the good news. The wide base provides a good initial heeling resistance without adding a deep keel. But the bad news is handling the mast. If it is placed centrally between the pontoons, some serious structure is needed to resist the down load. Attaching the stays and shrouds is not such a big deal, I'd think Brian W actually, the more I think about it, the more I'd be tempted to try a lateen rig on a bipod mast (one leg on each pontoon gets rid of the support problem). One thing you don't mention is if you intend to retain any superstructure (sunshade, specifically) while under sail. |
Pontoon Boat Conversion to Sailboat
On Sun, 16 Nov 2008 20:59:50 -0600, Brian Whatcott
wrote: On Sat, 15 Nov 2008 13:22:43 -0600, lowe210 wrote: I know this is an out-of-the box type question, but has anyone had any experience with or have any ideas or comments on the thought of taking a standard aluminum pontoon boat and rigging sails on it? I know it would be slow, but sort of looking for that old Spanish Gallion effect (slow, steady, using no fuel). Any thoughts on how to rig it, connect masts, and how it might sail? Thoughts on a keel(s) or other method of allowing it to tack properly against the wind? Is this even a possibility given the physics? Boat would be used on a large lake in Texas. A pontoon boat is in some ways ideal for sail propulsion. The hull form is low drag forward, and high drag sidewards. That's the good news. The wide base provides a good initial heeling resistance without adding a deep keel. But the bad news is handling the mast. If it is placed centrally between the pontoons, some serious structure is needed to resist the down load. Attaching the stays and shrouds is not such a big deal, I'd think Brian W Tuning the rigging might result in some interesting deflection. |
Pontoon Boat Conversion to Sailboat
On Sun, 16 Nov 2008 20:59:50 -0600, Brian Whatcott
wrote: On Sat, 15 Nov 2008 13:22:43 -0600, lowe210 wrote: I know this is an out-of-the box type question, but has anyone had any experience with or have any ideas or comments on the thought of taking a standard aluminum pontoon boat and rigging sails on it? I know it would be slow, but sort of looking for that old Spanish Gallion effect (slow, steady, using no fuel). Any thoughts on how to rig it, connect masts, and how it might sail? Thoughts on a keel(s) or other method of allowing it to tack properly against the wind? Is this even a possibility given the physics? Boat would be used on a large lake in Texas. A pontoon boat is in some ways ideal for sail propulsion. The hull form is low drag forward, and high drag sidewards. That's the good news. The wide base provides a good initial heeling resistance without adding a deep keel. But the bad news is handling the mast. If it is placed centrally between the pontoons, some serious structure is needed to resist the down load. Attaching the stays and shrouds is not such a big deal, I'd think Brian W The normal support incorporates a jack strut and tension strouds (dolphin striker) below the mast step. The bipod mast idea could use a tension member between the legs to prevent spreading. It's doubtful the original hull members were designed adequately to resist spreading. The pontoons I've been on are fairly flexible between the hulls. You could feel the deck twist when taking even small waves at an angle. Pete |
Pontoon Boat Conversion to Sailboat
In message 1 - Jim Willemin
writes: : : : On Sat, 15 Nov 2008 13:22:43 -0600, lowe210 wrote: : :I know this is an out-of-the box type question, but has anyone had any :experience with or have any ideas or comments on the thought of taking :a standard aluminum pontoon boat and rigging sails on it? snip : :actually, the more I think about it, the more I'd be tempted to try a :lateen rig on a bipod mast (one leg on each pontoon gets rid of the :support problem). One thing you don't mention is if you intend to :retain any superstructure (sunshade, specifically) while under sail. When I was a lad, the family had an Aqua Cat catamaran daysailor. It had a single mast attached to a crossbar between the two hulls at the bow, and supported by a bipod amidships. The sail was loose-footed. There's a picture of this rig at http://www.americansail.com/images/s...uacat14_1.html and at other places on that website. It seems to me that a rig like this could be fitted to a pontoon boat pretty easily. Might even be effective. -Derek |
Pontoon Boat Conversion to Sailboat
On Nov 15, 11:22*am, lowe210 wrote:
I know this is an out-of-the box type question, but has anyone had any experience with or have any ideas or comments on the thought of taking a standard aluminum pontoon boat and rigging sails on it? I know it would be slow, but sort of looking for that old Spanish Gallion effect (slow, steady, using no fuel). Any thoughts on how to rig it, connect masts, and how it might sail? Thoughts on a keel(s) or other method of allowing it to tack properly against the wind? Is this even a possibility given the physics? Boat would be used on a large lake in Texas. -- Posted at author's request, using moderatedhttp://www.BoatForumz.cominterface Thread archive:http://www.BoatForumz.com/Pontoon-Bo...oat-ftopict217... junk rig, unstayed mast, you might have to add some blocking for the mast step. you have pontoons so you got some freeboard to play with I think you could build the brace under the deck between the toons to hold the mast. and its simple to run and rig. |
Pontoon Boat Conversion to Sailboat
I think this would be a lot of fun.
You could look at lateen rigs. I had an old Sea Snark sailboat that had a styrofoam hull. The mast was supported by sliding it into a 12" long piece of pipe and tying it down. There was just a price of board across the hull to hold the top of the support pipe and the bottom was just sitting in a cup in the styrofoam. If styrofoam will hold such a mast your aluminum boat will, too. You will want to have the sail a lot higher off the floor to clear the seats with a bit of allowance for passengers' heads, say 4 feet high support pipe. Use aluminum pipes or channel bars to support the top of the support pipe. Some cross bracing on the floor will hold the bottom of the support pipe. I would use two sails - they could be beside one another at each side of the boat - simplest installation with most bits out of the way - but best sailing performance would be both sails on the centerline, one near the front of the boat and one about two-thirds of the way back. If you use a single sail or two side by side sails locate them about 40% of the way back from the front of the boat. You need a centerboard to resist sideways sliding and to privide hydraulic lift towards the wind - required for anything but dead downwind sailing. One board on the centerline or two boards, one on each side. Longitudinal location of the board should be at the point one-third of the way along hte sail from the mast - if you use two sails use the average of these points. A centerboard could be clamped onto the sides or hinged below the boat so they can be raised or lowered by a rope when needed. Alternatively, a centerboard can be fixed - bolt it onto the boat. You can fasten one onto the bottom of each hull or make a support for a single board along the centerline. Fixed boards should be around a foot deep and 3 feet long for shalowwest depth. Hinged or removable boards should be deep and narrow - one foot wide and 3 feet deep. Lateen sails have a horizontal boom that will give passengers a good rap on the head if they don't duck when you tack or jibe - jibes are more sudden with more force - enough to maim or kill in the strong wind. Maybe you should look at simple sloop rig sails without a boom, just a sheet at the back end of the sail to control stretch of the sail as well as sideways adjustment. This would be a lot safer for people who are not accustomed to sailboats and the hazards of booms. A sloop rig would be installed the same way as a lateen rig - slide the mast into a fixed support pipe. It may have less sail area and thus less performance but it would be close enough in your situation. Costs should be similar. |
Pontoon Boat Conversion to Sailboat
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Pontoon Boat Conversion to Sailboat
On Nov 20, 6:12 pm, cavelamb himself wrote:
Take a look at the mast mounting here...http://www.amateurboatbuilding.com/a...der/index.html Use the sail only off-wind so you can use a boomless gaff rig thus keeping the sail low and eliminating the need for stays. I'd use leeboads instead of a centerboard because with a centerboard you need more structure under the mast to support the loads on it whereas with leeboards those loads are on the pontoons. |
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