: Some ideas: Make the sail an inverted triangle(like shown by didier plouiec?
: in sea kayaker a few yrs ago). Attach w/ universal jt to front bulkhead.
: Or put a sleeve in front bulkhead for conventional mast.2 Stays in first
: case to rear bulkhead, say 1 to front of yak on one side(to the wd). The
: mast pole(s) should be no longer than the cockpit to fit in when not
: wanted or when stowing.

: For the rudder, just extend the ply say 4" at the back on ea side and
: you have a pocket for the paddle to fit in. Then just use it similar to a
: conventional sailboat rudder except that it just lifts out (i.e. you will
: be using the 'space' betw the wood sides w/ 2 little pces extending
: farther back so there actually now is a space). This may be awkward w/ a
: regular yak paddle unfaired, so use your small backup. Keeps it minimal.

: -mick

I see some possibilities for the next one:

Assuming the cloth strip is 10in wide down the ctr.,for the region between the bulkheads use cloth say 22in wide. Fold the cloth in 4: 5in fold, 6in fold back, 6in fold, 5in fold back. Sew a seam all along the 1st seam and the edge. So now you still have a pc 10in wide but there's a 6in bit hanging down right along the ctr. Attach 2 grommets at ea end, plus 4ft of 1/8in rope for each.

At the start of the seam, inpick for 1in. Same for the end. Make boat. Not in use pull the strings and attach to a hook on ea bulkhead.

But for use, release the strings, push a 18in dowel down the front edge and attach to the front form, and a 18in dowel down the back edge(where the seam is unpicked). Turn right, put back dowel the left, Left turn - push to right.

Or alternatively , put dowel in back attached to back form as in front, and put a dowel in the middle betw yer legs and use like an aircraft. Like the 'keel' curves left w/ the dowel or it curves right.

What you're ending up with is a flexible keel that you can operate from i/s the yak. You could experiment to see if the front one was even necessary by making say a triangular shape and only deflecting the back.

The downside to this is location - should prob be farther back.

I see other ideas here: such as for skin yaks - what if the leading edge just at the bottom was open, say a little more than at the back - seam along the bottom say a few in up. So it opens up to a long cylinder like an air supported structure except now it is a keel w/ mass. Might help to resolve some sailing issues when under way and a gust hits.

Anyway, just riffing.

-mick