Outriggers...single or double?

[canoe9girl]

Aside from opinions as to whether an outrigger/pontoon/sponson should be used, I have a question for those more experienced.

I want to use an outrigger(s) on my canoe, sort of like training wheels on a bike, so that novice users can have some extra 'support' while perfecting technique. I plan to construct the device myself, and mainly want to know whether others have found a single, or double setup to be best.

I see both used, and suppose that the singles help when leaned toward the outrigger, and as a counter balance when leaned away from it. On the other hand, double setups can be left above the water and only come into play when leaned past a certain tipping point.

I am building a sailing canoe on the base of a Royalex Charles River by OT, and have original Old Town hardware and want to avoid aluminum to keep the retro look as much as possible. I am handy with metal, wood and fiberglass fabrication.

Please feel free to leave constructive comments here as a reply, as well as any suggestions as to where materials can be purchased, and of course pictures are still worth a thousand words.

Thanks in advance.

Canoegirl

 

[Todd Bradshaw]

You might find this info helpful:

http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/garyd/quikama.html

I can find rational reasons for both types, but probably lean toward a single outrigger system. Less stuff to mess with and in some cases it can make the boat somewhat easier to tack (plus, I guess it's actually to your advantage to lean toward the single outrigger, rather than away from it )

 

[canoe9girl]

Outrigger reply

You might find this info helpful:

http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/garyd/quikama.html

I can find rational reasons for both types, but probably lean toward a single outrigger system. Less stuff to mess with and in some cases it can make the boat somewhat easier to tack (plus, I guess it's actually to your advantage to lean toward the single outrigger, rather than away from it )

Todd,

Once again, an excellent reply, especially the attached detailed DIY instructions!

As you said "That's why I get paid the big bucks"!

Wonderful resource...

C9G

 

[Todd Bradshaw]

...and thanks to Gary Dierking for doing such a good job of explaining the ama construction on his website. Gary's book on outrigger canoes, by the way, is excellent and contains a tremendous amount of information and great illustrations. It's also a real bargain for the price and anybody interested in canoes would most likely enjoy owning a copy.

http://www.amazon.com/Building-Outr...=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1223860346&sr=8-8

 

[Pernicious Atavist]

And you will also find a lot of articles dealing with outriggers in Canoe Sailing Magazine. http://canoesailingmagazine.com/

Thanks for remembering to suggest that to her, Todd.....

 

[canoe9girl]

pontoons

Well, as it ends up, I decided to weld up some temporary support arms, with a "T" at the end, and some orange lobster trap floats slid on to this arm. The floats are bullet shaped, have a hard surface coating, and a 3/4 inch hole in the middle, so they just slide onto the "T". The support arms sit into sockets, and can be easily removed. They sort of act as 'training wheels' for getting used to the sail characteristics.

I also fabricated all the ebrackets and mounts from pictures of sailing canoes.

I can't post a picture, but if someone knows how, and will give me an email address to send them to, then they can post them for me.

 

[Pernicious Atavist]

Well, why not post them in the Canoe Sailing Magazine forum? http://canoesailingmagazine.com/index.php/RUDDER-FORUM/

 

[canoe9girl]

Outriggers, and conversion of a modern Royalex OT to a sailer

Well, why not post them in the Canoe Sailing Magazine forum? http://canoesailingmagazine.com/index.php/RUDDER-FORUM/

I contacted the editor of Canoe Sailing Magazine, and he tried to help me post pictures...to no avail, as I am a knucklehead when it comes to computers. Finally, he said to send him a sample batch of pictures, and one thing led to another, and it looks like he is going to do an article on the conversion I am doing. He was very complimentary of my work.

I don't know when the article will appear...stay tuned.

C9G