The Expedition Rig
We now offer the Expedition rig in two sizes.
25sq ft at £185 and 25sq ft High Spec at £240
35sq ft at £245 and 35sq ft High Spec at £290
This rig is a 25 sq ft lugsail and is aimed at the open canoe paddler who wants a small auxiliary sail. Unlike most such rigs, this one is designed and made by people who know something about sailing. The sail is raised and lowered with a halyard so it is quick to set up and quick to lower. All three spars are only 6 ft 3" long so the rig packs into a very compact bundle.
With the larger 35sq ft sail the spars are 7ft 6ins long, but is still compact and easy to stow when paddling. This rig will give a better sailing performance in lighter winds
It is stowed by rolling the sail around the boom which keeps it crease free and in good condition. When stowed it is small enough not to interfere with paddling but when the wind blows it is big enough to harness plenty of wind energy. A lugsail shape allows you to set a large area of sail on short spars and because it has such a low centre of effort it has very little overturning effect on the canoe.
This sail area will propel the open canoe at faster than paddling speeds in a good breeze. With the addition of our clip on leeboard it will sail faster across the wind and will even sail to windward. Because it is designed as a minimal rig you can use your paddle to steer, but our stern mounted rudder can be added later to make for easier steering if required. A fixed pivoting leeboard will also work and is easier to use and has a better performance
We recently have done some development work on this rig and we were keen to find the best way of using it to travel into the wind. Sitting still and steering with the paddle under one arm works fine in a decent breeze, but in lighter winds the results were a little disappointing.
However with the sail cleated off to the centre thwart it leaves both hands free to use the paddle. With the leeboard positioned to give the canoe a little weather helm (the canoe tends to turn into the wind) you can control the direction of travel with a paddle stroke on the windward side. If you paddle hard the canoe turns slowly away from the wind and if you paddle lightly it turns slowly into the wind. These paddle strokes add to the power of the sail whilst controlling the direction of travel. We found that with a light breeze we could travel into the wind with a few gentle paddle stokes at a speed of around 4 knots and as the wind picked up a bit we were travelling into the wind at an impressive 5 knots. This is called paddle sailing and it can be a very efficient way to travel.
If the wind is blowing at 6 knots towards you and you are traveling towards it at 4 knots there is actually 10 knots of wind passing over the sail which can generate a lot of forward force (free power to help you along). If on the other hand you are sailing downwind in a 6 knots breeze and you are travelling at 4 knots there would only be an apparent wind of 2 knots on the sail which wouldn't be able to help you much at all.
Paddlers often make the wrong assumption that it is only worth sailing when the wind is strong and is blowing in the direction that you want to go. You can get much more use from a sailing rig that can help you whatever the wind direction and over a wider range of wind speeds.
We have recently been developing the rig to make it more controllable so that you can get more from it. We have made it loose footed with an adjustable outhaul. This allows the camber (curve) of the sail to be altered; loosened for a fuller shape for more power off the wind and tightened for the optimum shape for sailing into the wind.
The boom has jaws on the end so that the lug can be set standing. This lifts the boom up and makes it easier to duck under when going through the tack. We also have put on a kicker on which holds the boom down and keeps the sail in twist. This means that you can adjust the tension in the sail to keep all of it working and therefore generating the maximum force.
We can now offer the Expedition 35 high spec with reefing, and Expedition 25 High Spec with reefing
This allows you to reduce the sail area to around 20sq ft and 14 sq ft respectively and means that you can continue to sail in stronger winds. This is more expensive than our basic Expedition rigs but is more versatile and allows you to get good sailing performance over a wider range of wind speed.We have an article on How to set up and reef our high spec Expedition 35
We have also tried using this rig with both sails on our canoe set up as a ketch ( the 35 set up in the bow and the 25 set up in the stern). This versatility means that the Expedition rig can easily be upgraded to provide greater sailing performance by combining the 25 and 35 to give an impressive 60sq ft of sail area, which will still stow easily in the canoe. This ketch would be for the experienced sailor, but it is easy to go back to the single sail by removing the rear one, when the wind gets too much. The clip on leeboard can be positioned under the middle of the front sail when sailing with one sail, or brought back to the middle of the canoe when sailing it as a ketch to maintain the balance of the rig.
We have an article showing How to fit an Expedition Rig to your canoe
and an article on Setting up an Expedition Rig
We have a video of us sailing on Coniston with an Expedition Rig.
and a video of OCSG members on Rutland using their Expedition Rigs in light winds
and a video of OCSG members on Loch Ken using their Expedition Rigs in strong winds
If you want to sail in stronger winds with the larger 35 we find that controlling the canoe with a paddle can become difficult and would recommend that you use a rudder, but it is easy to upgrade to this later as you want to go out sailing in more challenging conditions, and you always have the option of lowering and stowing the rig and returning to a paddling canoe if the wind becomes too strong.
We make all our own sails. They are computer designed, laser cut and built to a high standard. We only use top quality sail cloth that is designed to take the forces of sailing without distorting. Cheaper sails are often made from cheaper ripstop nylon. These stretch and distort when under stress and are usually kept screwed up in a bag when not in use.
The rig is supplied as a sail on it's spars, a mast with rigging, a carrying bag, a mast thwart and mast step.
If you want the rig to sail into the wind you will need a leeboard. Our clip on leeboard is specially designed for the expedition rig. Other things that you may want to consider are Side Buoyancy Bags, Rudders or fixed pivoting leeboard. Find them in Accessories.
Expedition Rig - Prices
| Sailing Rig | Sail Only | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Expedition Rig 25 |
£185 | £20 p&p |
N/A | N/A |
| Expedition 25 high spec | £240 | £20 p&p | N/A | N/A |
| Expedition Rig 35 | £245 | £20 p&p | N/A | N/A |
| Expedition 35 high spec | £290 | £20 p&p | N/A | N/A |
| Buoyancy bag | £20 each | £5 p&p |
||