Orca - Sailing and Paddling Canoe
This is our latest development of the group canoe; a boat which would be fun either to sail or to paddle.
A large buoyant and ballasted outrigger makes the boat uncapsizable in normal use. The centreboard is in the outrigger to keep it from cluttering up the main hull. It is angled sideways at 45o to provide a downward force when it is to windward and an upward force when it is on the leeward side thus augmenting the weight or buoyancy of the outrigger.
For economy the sailing rig consists of three complete Pico rigs. (The centre already had a fleet of Picos.) It is designed to balance under 1, 2 or 3 sails.
This boat is fast and impressive to look at. You get a lot of people on the water economically and safely and its not boring if the wind dies because she paddles well. We have many years of experience of looking after boats in outdoor centres and this is reflected in the detail design where a lot of attention has been paid to minimizing future maintenance.
For example, sealed bottom boards are fitted which are above the waterline when the boat is empty. Rain or washing water is drained by a self bailer. The space below the boards is connected to the end compartments which have high spray resistant vents. This enables the boat to be kept on a mooring without the need for pumping and to be hosed out easily.
This particular boat was designed to take 14 people but we could easily design and build smaller or larger as required. Orca provides an interesting alternative to the conventional sailing and rowing boats favoured by many centres.