You’d think living in Newfoundland right on the ocean learning to sail would be easy but it isn’t. There’s one sailing club around here and based on their website they only have lessons for kids. I looked into going away for it but that doesn’t really make sense, it’ll be years before I can own my own boat so why spend so much now on lessons I’ll probably forget?
I could buy a small sailing dinghy but where would I keep it? Keeping it in water is expensive and I don’t drive so have no way to trailer one stored in my driveway around.
Then I saw this thing online.
It’s a folding boat.
I spent a week or two down that rabbit hole, looking at folding boats and even dreamed up my own design but I don’t really want to build a boat, I just want to sail one. Something small I can take around to local ponds towed behind my bike or on the ocean on calm days.
Then I stumbled across this.
Kits you can buy (I’d build my own) and strap to an inflatable dinghy. Spent about week looking at those. Sure, they work, but they aren’t very good to windward. These boats are essentially flat bottomed and are just as happy to slide sideways as go forward. I don’t imagine I’d use it for much besides sailing either.
A better option for sailing is a kayak. They are designed to track straight due the way paddling them makes them want to twist side to side. They can be a bit tippy but outriggers or a smaller sail can take care of that. I don’t want to deal with a solid hull though, too much trouble towing behind my bike, so I’m looking at inflatables.
Not all inflatable kayaks are created equal however and most of them are basically pool toys. Even the better ones in the mid range are pretty flexible which means you lose energy so not a great sailing experience, you want a stiff boat.
Enter drop stitch kayaks.
Drop stitching can make a boat nearly as stiff as a solid one without the weight penalties or the bulk during transport. Instead of round tubes that fill up with air to about 1-2 psi drop stitching links the sides together with threads allowing flat panels and about 10psi inflation resulting in a stiffer surface than traditional inflatable boat construction. You can stand on it, they make stand up paddle boards with this stuff.
Only thing is, being the newest thing, they aren’t cheap. A decent kayak isn’t cheap anyway so I don’t mind paying a few bucks for it and I would use a kayak for more than just sailing, I’ve wanted one for years. I’ve never bought one only because I don’t drive.
There are only a few brands and all of them are over $1000 which is what I’d pay for a decent solid kayak too but like most things lately these things are all made in China. Doesn’t matter where the company selling them is or what pretty graphics they use, they’re pretty much all the same design made by the same factories in China. I had a look on Alibaba and several of them will sell single units and the price is about a third of what the retailers sell them for.
I’m not buying one now, can’t use it for months anyway, but I’ll have a look again in a couple of months and see if I can get one direct from China. They usually want you to be a retailer buying multiple units per month but if I can convince them I’m using it to prototype a sailboat (which is true) and I might be looking to buy more in a few months once I perfect my design (which isn’t true) I should be able to get what I want.
Being me though by then it’s entirely possible my brain will have moved on to completely new ideas and I won’t want one anymore.
jOdyssey 