If this information on paddle craft choices for sailing does not help you, please contact the Falcon Sails shop. Phone calls are better as boat choice comes down to your personality and what you as an individual will like the best.  After having helped thousands of people rig sails on their kayaks and canoes, we are very good at this process and are very happy to help you.  Email will work too, but not quite as well.  It is like trying to explain to somebody what kind of transportation to use that has never driven a car or been in a car rode a bike or taken public transportation on top of not knowing where the person lives or what budget they have.  We will be very happy to guide you in the general direction we think will make you happiest, communicating any way you like, but with a few minutes on the phone we can usually effectively and efficiently provide some kayak choice ideas that would be good for you.

Our shop phone number US 1-419-800-0132
Our email address info@falconsails.com

If you rig one of your kayaks to accept your Falcon Sail, you can rig another one of your kayaks or canoes to accept your Falcon Sail as well.  It only takes some deck hardware, and then you will have 2 boats to choose from.  Rigging the 2^nd kayak for your Falcon Sail will be easier than the first kayak you rig.  A lot of Falcon Sailors will rig all their kayaks and canoes for their Falcon Sail.  That way, no matter what kayak they take, it is ready to sail.   Once a boat is rigged to accept your falcon sail you can move it from one kayak to the other in less than 2 minutes.

In general people from cooler areas are more likely to prefer sit-inside kayaks, and people from warmer areas tend to gravitate more toward sit-ontop kayaks. 

Both sit-ontop and sit-inside kayaks are great for kayak sailing and have their pros and cons.   Sometimes, sit-inside kayaks are easier to rig and for the same length and width are more stable because the seats are usually lower.  Sometimes sit-on-top kayaks have complicated deck shapes with difficult to access areas under the mast which can lead to some extra rigging work. 

If you can find a kayak with great access under the deck / where you want to install the mast, that is more desirable.   Typically sit inside kayaks are very straight forward and give you easy access to the area under the mast.  If you like sit-on-top kayaks, then do not let what we say push you to a sit inside kayak. There is a solution for rigging a sail on any kayak.  We are here to help you sail the kayak you like the most.

People have questions about Canoes and how to rig a Falcon Sail on a Canoe and about how they sail.  We help people rig Falcon Sails on canoes on a regular basis.  We have many customers who canoe many thousands of miles with a Falcon Sail.  Like any paddle craft they sail very nicely.

As you know, conventional canoes / open canoes do not have a deck.  The best, most solid rigging job on a canoe calls for a solid gunnel to gunnel cross-member to use as a mast base.  9 out of 10 people use wood to make a cross-member.  If you order a Falcon Sail with a complete rigging kit for your conventional canoe, at your request, your kit will include a 2.5 inch x .75 inch x 36 inch piece of hardwood to use as a cross member. It is not hard to shape and install, but it is commonly an extra step necessary to do a great job rigging a Falcon Sail on a canoe.   If you have any woodworking skills, or just determination, you can fashion & solidly attach a cross-member / thwart in the perfect spot on your canoe.  Your canoe may already have a cross member and or seat and or a carrying cross member / handle and or an extended bow deck / or thwart in a location that will work well as a mast base rigging location. 

Or you can use a Falcon Sail clamp on (aluminum) cross member.  The Falcon Sail clamp on cross-member kit clamps on in about 1 minute and is extremely solid (even more solid than necessary).  It weighs about 3 pounds 10 ounces, which is a lot heavier and is not as attractive as a wood cross-member, but the Falcon Sail clamp on (aluminum) cross-member is a reliable and very solid and easy option.

Canoes have some advantages.  One major advantage of sailing a canoe is, it is easy to move weight around to change your boats (center of lateral resistance) tendency to turn up wind or turn down wind.  Your goal is to give your boat a tendency to be neutral / not turn up wind or turn down wind.  It is nice to be able to adjust weight and experiment with this tendency when on the water.  Most often, with a kayak you need to land to make a weight distribution adjustment.  If you are carrying a load, after a few launches and landings, you will have an idea of what to do no matter if you do it on land or on the water.  With just a little bit of experience, you will know the advantages of loading your boat one way or the other.   One big advantage of rigging a sail on your canoe is they are very easy to rig.  Once you have your mast base location set up on your canoe, the rest of the rigging process is as easy as it gets.  If you use a Falcon Sail clamp on cross member, it will only take about 1 minute to have your mast base location finalized.

If a canoe stays within its weigh limitations, and has not become unstable for being overloaded, the more you load in a canoe, the better it sails.   Heavy loads do 2 things for canoe sailing.  They reduce windage above the water line and increase lateral resistance below the water line at the same time which makes your canoe sail immensely better.  In general, if you load a canoe as it was designed to be loaded, it will sail a lot better.  We have had many canoe adventurers give feedback confirming this dynamic.
                                             
Another point about conventional canoes is some canoes have more windage / exposed surface to catch wind. When sailing, less windage is a good thing, but more windage should not change your opinion of rigging a Falcon Sail on your canoe.  Some canoes tend to track not as well as kayaks.  This is not as desirable, but not a reason, to not put a Falcon Sail on your canoe.   So, canoes have a few minor drawbacks, but if you like your canoe, and want to put a Falcon Sail on it, you will have a good time sailing your canoe. The best boat for rigging a sail on is the boat you own and like. You can rig a Falcon Sail on the canoe you like, then rig your other boats to accept the sail as well.

Tandem kayaks and tandem canoes are particularly attractive for paddle sailing.  They are usually very stable, sail great, are the easiest to rig. Many times they are just more fun than a solo craft. A sail can bridge the difference between 2 peoples likes and enthusiasm. If one wants to paddle harder and one just enjoys the ride, the sail can provide the push needed to make up for a paddler that does not want to paddle.

One of our favorite kayaks to help people with are tandem recreational kayaks.  They make great beginner kayaks and sail great in tandem and single paddler modes.   We have a lot of sea kayakers and canoers enjoy sailing their tandem paddle craft.

For more capable paddlers and rowers a 16 to 18-foot-long and 21 inches wide boat can be a great choice.  The only real advantage of these kayaks are they are a little faster (less than 1 kph faster for normal paddlers), and they are tippy, which is great if you are conditioned to lean into steep waves when steep waves pass under you.  These boats are for more skilled paddlers looking for more exposure, going a little faster, further, and maybe camping.   They sail great, but not better than the shorter or wider kayaks. In general, they are not a good choice for inexperienced kayakers without some help and determination to advance skills.  

One exception to the rule (the best kayak for kayak sailing is the kayak you own and like), is if you have a kayak and you are not in control of it. You should have enough control of your kayak to paddle with no sail in the conditions you plan to sail in.  It could possibly be in a beautiful narrow tippy sea kayak or a tippy surf ski, or any kind of super tippy kayak you are just learning how to paddle.  If you want to sail in big open water and you have great control of the kayak and have great reentry / self-rescue skills a tippy boat like this is a fine choice.  If you are not a solid sea kayaker, a sea kayak can limit you to staying close to shore until you gain adequate skill. Keeping yourself limited to conditions that match your skill levels is a common-sense good thing for kayakers at all levels to do.  It is part of a smart learning progression.  Everybody has their limits.  Since sea kayaks are tippy, you should be a good sea kayaker to go far from shore with a sea kayak with or without a sail.

A sea kayak will encourage you to advance your skills quickly or maybe convince you to limit your sailing to light wind days to stay within your learning curve and comfort zone.  You can always lower a Falcon Sail and secure it to your deck 100% out of the way in seconds.  If your goal is to advance your sea kayaking skills, rigging a Falcon Sail on your sea kayak will be very beneficial. It will allow you to engage in challenging situations with the ability to drop your sail on demand in seconds to go back to a no sail / easier mode any time you like.  Having this learning tool allows one of the best methods of advancing skills available.  Once you become a proficient sea kayak sailor, most all conditions start to feel easy. If you are looking for a thrill you can always raise your sail.

If you are not in control and do not have people to kayak with, you must be careful with a sea kayak or any tippy paddle craft for both paddle only kayaking and kayak sailing.  You can never be too good at self-rescue skills.  If you can reliably always reenter your kayak if you are in the water, you are an advanced sea kayaker and ready for a lot of sea kayak sailing experiences.

Sea Kayaks have a few small drawbacks.  They have a little longer learning curve.  That longer learning curve applies if you have a sail or do not have a sail.  Sea kayaks take a extra thinking to give a neutral steering tendency / a tendency to stay on course / a tendency to not turn up wind or turn down wind.  It is not hard to adjust this tendency with a simple weight redistribution or adjustment of a skeg or an adjustment of a rudder.   A sea kayak with or without a sail needs a little bit of thinking to keep its steering tendency neutral / a tendency to stay on course.  This issue is not specific to kayak sailing as much as it is specific to sea kayaks when in the wind.   Sea kayaks introduce this tendency to the equation where shorter kayaks do not.  Hence nearly all sea kayaks have adjustable skegs or rudders and kayaks shorter than 13 feet rarely have adjustable skegs and rudders.  Sea kayaks are usually narrow and tippy which requires some extra skill.

If you can safely handle a sea kayak and you like sea kayaks, then your favorite sea kayak is the kayak we recommend for you to sail.  If you are not so confident, go kayak sailing with kayaking friends that can help you if you would like help. In this case sail when they paddle and stay close to them.  You will learn quickly.  Learning and improving your maneuvering skills is a big part of the fun.  A sail will make you a better and stronger kayaker.  On occasion, you will use your most powerful sweep strokes and rudder strokes to turn and then learn to use graceful balancing of forces to give your kayak a neutral tendency.   This is true with or without a sail. Wind tends to make things a bit more difficult no matter if you have a sail or not.  Adding a sail just makes you want to go out in the wind and expose yourself to these fun conditions.

A kayak can be flimsy and still be great for sailing.  A sturdier kayak is generally preferred over a less solid kayak.    If you have a kayak that is average or just particularly soft, it will be fine.  Light weight kayaks tend to be softer and less stiff.  There is a lot of tolerance designed into the Falcon Sail rigging kit for kayaks that are softer and less stiff.  Unless your kayak is as soft and flexible as an inflatable or folding kayak, rigidity is not an issue.  

If your kayak is softer / not really solid, it will be less tolerant for rigging imperfections and sloppy rigging.  If you have a soft kayak you should try to follow the installation instructions as best as you can and use the  deck stiffeners included with your complete rigging kit.  This is not a problem, but if you have a solid kayak, it is more desirable and will be more tolerant of a more sloppy installation.  All hard-shell kayaks (plastic, composite (fiberglass, Kevlar, Carbon, wood / not folding or inflatable)) are plenty solid for a solid installation.

No matter what happens, if your rigging job is not adequate, it will reveal itself usually in the form of a mast that is not solidly standing.  These things are easy to fix. 9 out of 10 times adjusting the standing lines will be more than enough to correct a mast that is not standing solidly.  More solid kayaks are desirable, but there is no reason to focus on this.  Falcon Sails come with deck support struts, deck stiffeners, adapter blocks, large fender washers, and other large engagement hardware to keep things solid.  Your rigging kit will include everything you need.

If all things are equal and you want the easiest install job, try to avoid inflatable, folding, and skin on frame kayaks. All inflatable, folding, and skin on frame kayaks can be rigged with a Falcon Sail and will sail great just like any paddle craft.  Usually inflatable, folding, and skin on frame kayaks take more work and determination to solidly rig a sail on them.  Inflatable, folding, and skin on frame kayaks often have more windage / more surface area for the wind to blow on.  More windage is not a good thing but is not a major issue either.  In any case, less windage is slightly more desirable than more windage. 

Inflatable, folding, and skin on frame kayaks typically require you to make a simple solid mast base board (usually made of a plastic board or varnished quality plywood) to attach to your deck, and may require some anchor points / tie down points to be added as well.  Commonly attaching D-Ring patches to inflatable kayaks is part of the process. These things are not difficult but do require more knowledge & determination.  Falcon Sails will be happy to guide you and support you through the installation process.

Sometimes, just a bit of extra deck reinforcement / deck stiffeners included in a Falcon Sail complete rigging kit, will be all you need on an inflatable, folding, or skin on frame kayak.  On occasion these kayaks will have a solid mounting point that is ready to go and will be just as easy to rig a sail on as a hard-shell kayak (plastic, composite (fiberglass, Kevlar, Carbon, wood / not folding or inflatable)).   Each boat is different. If you like, call or email the Falcon Sails shop to let us know the model of paddle craft you are considering, and we will respond with some comments that will let you know what is necessary for your kayak.  If you order a Falcon Sail with a complete rigging kit for any paddle craft, we will put together the best and most complete rigging kit we can and provide notes and advice for you, so you know what is needed to do a great rigging job.

Inflatable, folding, and skin on frame kayaks are plenty solid but typically require more work to solidify the rigging as necessary for “a nice solid enough rigging job”.  Hard-shell kayaks (plastic, composite (fiberglass, Kevlar, Carbon, wood / not folding or inflatable)) are nearly always easier to rig and with equal effort will be more solid. 

If it is not a problem for you, stick with an ordinary hard-shell kayak (plastic, composite (fiberglass, Kevlar, Carbon, wood / not folding or inflatable)).   If you want to sail your inflatable, folding, or skin on frame kayak we recommend you go for it, and we will be happy to discuss your exact boat / rigging situation to help you come up with ideas and decide what you want and what your plan will be.  If your only kayak is an inflatable, folding, or skin on frame kayak and you have some determination, you should put a Falcon Sail on it.  Contact us and tell us the exact kayak model you have, and we will respond with an opinion and ideas for that kayak.  We can put together a rigging kit for you that will include nearly everything you need. 

Just like everything else, we have rigging solutions for every situation you can imagine.

Falcon Sail rigging kits come with easy to set rivets so access to the inside of the kayak is not necessary.

If you have access to the area under the mast (for a faster & easier installation of the Falcon Sail deck support strut), it will be easier to rig. If the kayak does not provide access to the area under the mast, we will select the best solution available. There are plenty of solutions to deal with a kayak where you do not have access to under where you should rig the mast. A few examples are listed below.

A complete rigging kit for some kayaks includes a easy to install screw out deck plate to create easy access and a nice upgrade to your kayak. Some kayak parts lists include deck stiffeners as an alternative to our deck support strut.

For some kayaks, when we make a sail with a complete rigging kit, we will include a custom-made aluminum cross member and with easy to set rives for attachment and use as a mast base.   This allows the mast base to be held at the perfect level and location.  We make these custom-made aluminum cross members typically for kayaks that have a recessed front deck area.  

A rare slight exception to the general rule, (the best kayak for kayak sailing is the kayak you own and like), would be an overly complex deck shape. Occasionally designers of sit on top kayaks that make rigging a bit more work.  Even still 98%+ of all sit on top kayaks, are plenty easy to rig and sail great. There are very few unusual deck shapes that require more work to solidly rig a sail on it. 

After having helped people rig thousands of different kayaks with Falcon Sails, we have developed great rigging options to cover every situation we have come across.  We will always help properly rig a sail on your kayak. Most often we have a solution to make even complex shapes very easy to work with. A few rare situations will require a little more work to match an unusually complex deck shape. 

If you tell us what kayak you have, we will let you know the recommended rigging plan for that boat. If there is any factor or significant out of the ordinary situation, we make sure you know right away. 19+ out of 20 times, all you have to do is order a Falcon Sail with a complete rigging kit, and when the box arrives you will have 100% of the hardware you need for an easy and solid rigging job.  At the end of the Falcon Sail purchase process, you will tell us what kayak you have, so we can make the best possible kit for you.  If you fail to let us know what kayak you have, or we do not have enough information to make the best kit we can for you, we will contact you to get the information we need.

Another factor is, if you plan on hanging out with other kayakers, there is an advantage to have a kayak similar to theirs so you will tend to have the same pace and more likely to go out in and enjoy the same conditions.  If a kayak that is super way faster or super way slower than your friend’s kayak, it may not be as good as it could be if your kayaks were more similar.

Here are a few general rules of thumb for choosing a sail size.
If you have a narrow kayak (25 inches or less) and see winds above 10mph regularly, the 1.0 is the way to go.
If you have a super stable kayak / one that is over 28 inches wide and only rarely see winds over 15mph, the 1.4 would be a good choice.  If you have a decently stable kayak, and like big wind days over 15mph a 1.0 square meter sail is a great choice as well.
The 1.1 is a nice in between size.

No matter what kayak you have, all sizes are going to work nicely on a lot of days. No matter what size of sail you choose, you will find it works great in reasonable conditions.  

On occasion you may decide to go sailing on a windy day and you would like a 1.0 square meter sail.  On occasion, you may find a light wind day and decide you would like a 1.4 square meter sail. One of the beauties of having a Falcon Sail is all sizes of sails will work with your Falcon Sail rig.  If you would like different size of sail, you can order a Sail (With No Hardware) in another size and use it with your current rig.  As you have more fun with your Falcon Sail, you may decide you would like another size of sail. If you have 2 sizes of sails, you can change from one size to another in less than 2 minutes.  Currently we have 3 sizes of sails.  Every sail Falcon Sails will ever make will be compatible with whatever sail rig you may already own.

If you buy any size sail with a complete rigging kit, you can order another sail (With No Hardware) in any size you like at any time.  You can then bring all your sails with you when you go sailing.  This will give you a fast and easy sail-size change option ready to go.

All sizes of Falcon Sails are compatible with the Falcon Sail rig.  If you buy a Sail only of any size at any time, it will include everything you need to use it with your Falcon Sail rig.

Skill level does play a small role in the choice, but in general a smart advanced kayak sailor will be no more likely to go with a big sail than a beginner.

Advanced kayakers who go out in bigger winds are commonly  best served by a smaller sized sail. There is no reason to be overpowered.  On a big windy day, a 1.0 square meter Falcon Sail can push any kayak to its maximum hull speed, and for sure as fast as the strongest paddler can paddle a kayak if the distance is more than a 50-yard sprint.  In this case a larger sail will not make you go any faster.

In the ideal world you have all 3 sizes of sails.

If you buy a 1.0 square meter sail with a complete rigging kit, you can buy a 1.4 square meter sail only any time you like. And of course, if you buy a 1.4 square meter sail with a complete rigging kit, you can buy a 1.0 square meter sail only any time you like as well.  This flexibility applies to our 1.1 square meter sail as well.

All Falcon Sails hardware is modular and interchangeable.

We look at every order to make sure a customer who already has a Falcon Sail will be taken care of / and has all the hardware necessary if they order another size of sail.  We are not only selling the best hardware you can find, you are buying a service and the best experience we can provide.

The 1.0 sail only comes with a boom extension that will make it work with your 1.4 or 1.1 sail rig.
The 1.1 sail only comes with a boom extension that will make it work with your 1.0 or 1.4 sail rig.
The 1.4 sail only comes with a boom extension that will make it work with your 1.0 or 1.1 sail rig.

If you ever buy another size of sail / sail only to use with your current rig, you will have everything you need.
Changing sail sizes is easy to do.  With just a little practice you will be able to change out a Falcon Sail in about 90 seconds or less.

In any case, there is no sense in being overpowered as the 1.0 on a 15mph wind day, will push your kayak as fast as it will go, but still the 1.4 will be fine in decent wind and you can always lower your sail and secure it to the the deck of your kayak any time you do not feel like you are in 100% control.

Here is a video that shows how to change sail sizes.
https://www.facebook.com/falconsails/videos/768410241951446/

Here is another video that shows a sail change on a really windy day.
You can put on a smaller sail and also not even raise the sail if it is too windy for you.
https://www.facebook.com/100064028142315/videos/pcb.1087109789446612/908362431206451

Kayaks 13 feet or shorter never require a rudder.  If a kayak has an adjustable skeg, a rudder is not necessary no matter how long the kayak is.  So, if your kayak is 13 feet or shorter or has an adjustable skeg you will 100% not need a rudder. 

Rudders are almost never necessary until you get into kayaks over 14 feet long. Even then, you can sail any kayak without a rudder.  On kayaks 14 feet and longer, it is common to be more desirable to have a rudder or an adjustable skeg. Again, adding a sail will not create a need for a rudder. If a kayak has an adjustable skeg it will not need a rudder no matter how long the kayak is.   Many kayak sailors have been sailing kayaks longer than 14 feet for many years without a rudder and without an adjustable skeg and are happy sailing.  So, no matter what kayak you have, you can sail without a rudder.  The learning curve with a rudder is a little easier, but if you master kayak sailing without a rudder, you will be a better kayak sailor (and better kayaker as well) as there are other great tools to adjust the tendencies of your kayak.  Sometimes a rudder becomes a crutch as it is a less efficient option for controlling your kayak than some other methods discussed below. 

The purpose of a rudder on your kayak is not for turning.  A rudder’s main purpose on a kayak is to act like a trim tab.  That means adjusting your kayaks tendency to stay on course.   Sometimes a kayak will tend to turn down wind and sometimes that same kayak will tend to turn upwind.  Most often, your goal is to give your kayak a neutral tendency.  With a neutral tendency, your kayak will tend to stay on course.  A rudder is just one of many effective tools to give your kayak a neutral tendency / a tendency to stay on course.  A rudder is not an efficient tool nor the best tool for this purpose and a rudder does create drag in the water even when it is not providing turning force.  The drag increases as turning force is applied.  In a sense, the more you use a rudder the less desirable it is. 

Rudders sometimes are a crutch and are not helpful in learning the art of kayak sailing.  

The most important factor when it comes to steering a kayak with a sail or any kayak is balance.  Balance in this case means your kayaks tendency to stay on course.  With or without a rudder your kayak should not have a significant tendency to turn upwind and not have a significant tendency to turn down wind.  Your kayak should have a neutral tendency / a tendency to stay on course, that should be addressed with other tools besides a rudder.  Such as weight distribution, leaning to move weight forward or aft, and sometimes leaning upwind and down wind, sail trim, and sometimes speed.  Of course, you can use your paddle ideally with sweep strokes and rudder strokes.  Addressing a significant out of balance tendency by only using a rudder is very limiting and not a good way to fix an out of balance situation.  If your kayak is out of balance and you use a rudder to force it into balance, your rudder acts much like a sea anchor / generates drag and will reduce your sailing efficiency.  Your goal when sailing should be to use the rudder the least amount as you can.

Your main goal when sailing is efficiency.  A big part of efficiency is having a natural neutral tendency to stay on course.  If your kayak is out of balance the best way to address, it is with all the tools at your disposal.  Not just a rudder. 

Moving weight rearward tends to give your kayak a tendency to turn down wind, and moving weight forward, will tend to make your kayak want to turn upwind.  You can change this weight distribution with your body weight or moving your gear around on your kayak.  Leaning upwind and downwind are 2 more great tools for impacting your kayak’s tendency to stay on course.  Leaning upwind, will tend to turn your kayak down wind, if you lean downwind your kayak will tend turn upwind.  With sail trim, if you pull the boom tighter it will tend to push your bow downwind, and if you let your boom out you will tend to turn upwind.  Sail trim is another great learning experience as well.  Using the paddle to adjust course when sailing is identical to using the paddle to adjust your course when paddle only kayaking.   Though with the propulsion of the sail at hand, rudder strokes become an amazing and fun tool for steering your kayak.  Last but not least speed can have a noticeable impact on your kayak’s tendency to turn upwind and down wind.  As you speed up, your kayak’s lateral resistance increases, and its center of lateral resistance tends to move forward.   This means is the faster you go, the more your kayak will have a tendency to turn upwind, and the slower you go the more  your kayak will have a tendency to turn downwind.

If you follow the Falcon Sail install location guidelines, your kayak will be very close to having a neutral tendency and will sail decently with only small adjustments.  All these tools are usually more than enough, and it all adds up to a rudder absolutely not being necessary for kayak sailing on most kayaks.

The shorter your kayak the greater the impact small weight distribution changes will make.  This makes shorter kayaks a little easier to sail.  Making weight adjustments as small is moving a water bottle from front to rear or rear to front can have a noticeable impact on the kayak’s balance.  So, using weight is an easy and efficient way to give your kayak a neutral tendency.  When sailing you can make a kayak turn upwind by leaning forward and make a kayak turn down wind by leaning back.  Changing your kayaks tendencies with weight distribution changes is much more efficient than dragging a rudder blade with turning force through the water. 

If you want to do some lazy kayak sailing and not use a paddle for long stretches and do not want to lean or adjust the sail or your weight fore and aft to steer, you can install a rudder, and you may like it. Unless your kayak is 14 feet or longer and clearly could use a rudder, we do not recommend adding a rudder.  We recommend you do not install a rudder unless a rudder is desirable for your kayak.  If a rudder is desirable, the designer will have included rudder attachment points in the stern tip of your kayak. 

You can steer without a rudder, and you can steer even without a paddle.  Steering techniques become obvious after a little experimentation.

If you are on the fence or not sure about a rudder, you should avoid having a rudder early on, as number 1 you are likely not to care if you have one, and more importantly, a rudder will likely be a crutch and make it more likely you use bad boat control habits. Your paddle is way more powerful than a rudder and other methods are actually better.  A rudder used to force an out of balance kayak to be in balance, is a drag in the water and will reduce your efficiency and your ability to point upwind.

If you do use a rudder, it is a good idea to test your kayak’s natural tendencies each outing or multiple times per outing with the rudder out of the water to see if it is naturally in balance / will go in a straight line without forcing it into a straight line with a rudder.  You test your kayak’s natural tendencies by raising your rudder and continuing to sail. If the boat has a strong tendency to turn upwind or strong tendency to turn downwind you should adjust your weight distribution bring it closer to neutral.  You want your boat to tend to stay on course as much as possible without the input of a rudder.  A rudder should be used to only make small changes to a kayak’s tendency to turn upwind or turn down wind.  You can use a rudder to assist with turning, but that is not what rudders are for.  On longer kayaks rudders are a little more useful as your weight movement does not have as great an impact as it does on shorter kayaks.

Having a sail will slightly increase the desirability for having a rudder.  Big winds and high speeds also make having a rudder a little more desirable.  Having a rudder can make it easier to get through the very early learning curve but will also obscure using better techniques to maintain windward and lee ward balance. 

The longer your kayak the more likely you will enjoy having a rudder. Even better than using a rudder, a kayak’s tendency to turn upwind or downwind can be addressed with sail trim, leaning upwind and down wind, leaning forward and aft, changing the distribution of your weight, and adjusting your speed.  Once you start doing these things, many times you would not use a rudder because a rudder is not the best way to put a kayak in balance to stay on course.  Rudders add drag and slow you down.

The shorter the kayak, and the more experience you have the easier it is to live without a rudder. Finally, when kayaking or kayak sailing, if your paddle says turn left and your rudder says something else, your paddle will win.

Rudders and skegs are not for turning.  They are to adjust your kayaks tendency to a neutral tendency and reduce a tendency to turn upwind or turn down wind.  It is a lot like a trim tab on an airplane wing.  You want it so if you take your hands off the controls, the airplane will stay level and on course.  A nicely trimmed kayak is great to have. It will tend to stay on course and will sail faster and have a better upwind capability.   A rudder is one of the easiest tools to understand for making corrections on the water / trimming your kayaks upwind and or downwind tendencies. But a rudder often is a crutch and may prevent people from learning proper techniques for staying in balance.  Using a rudder to trim your kayak also adds drag and slows you down so they are best reserved for minor fluctuations in balance vs a tool to power your way out of an unbalanced situation.  The more drag you have, the less it is possible to sail upwind.   One last note about rudders.  They are the first and by far the most common thing to break on every kayak that has one. 

In the end, if a Falcon Sail customer would like to have a rudder, we will be happy to send a complete Smart Track (it is the best rudder kit you will find) rudder kit for their kayak at our wholesale cost which usually ends up being around $250 including shipping to any US location.   We will do our best to help you obtain everything you need to have a great rudder installed on your kayak.  If your kayak is rudder ready, we can typically provide a bracket for you.  Let us know what kayak you have and or provide a picture of the aft / stern / back area of your kayak and we can tell you what we think.  If your kayak is not rudder ready, you may need to find a bracket or a gudgeon for your kayak.

You can learn a bit about the Smart Track Rudder Systems we think are the best you will ever find.
https://youtu.be/N6m_Acc7GTs?si=yJkmo4kdzSnv_sCo

You can see a gudgeon here.
https://sealectdesigns.com/groups/1398-rudder-mounting-gudgeons-pointed-stern

To keep things simple let’s say you can sail 200 out of 360 degrees without paddling.  That means you can make upwind progress and sail across a lake and back and return upwind of where you started.

Here is some math to explain a bit more.  200 degrees = 180 reaching + 10 on a starboard tack & 10 on a port tack.  If your kayak can sail 20 degrees above reaching on 1 tack, you can sail with no paddling 220 degrees = 180 reaching + 20 on a starboard tack & 20 on a port tack. 

If you add a few paddle strokes, you can add more degrees of upwind progress.  With just a few paddle strokes (to keep the sail properly oriented to the wind and keep some hull speed) you will generate more lateral resistance and more useful upwind sail propulsion.  With just a few paddle strokes you can increase the 200 degrees of sailing to 240 degrees of sailing.  If you paddle a bit more, the 240 degrees of useful sail propulsion will grow to 260 degrees, and with more paddling the 260 degrees of useful sail propulsion will grow even more.

So you can sail with just a regular kayak and zero paddling 200+ out of 360 degrees.  With some paddling you can have useful sail propulsion on much more aggressive angles of attack.  Or you can paddle and sail and sometimes have double the speed you normally would out of your paddling effort.  So, you can sail with no paddling or have the best of both words as you gain extra speed and lower resistance paddle strokes from your sail as you paddle.

As with any sailboat the more you point your bow on aggressive upwind angles of attack, the laws of diminishing returns set in.  If you paddle as you are sailing, you can have useful sail propulsion to within 30 degrees of straight upwind. That means you can have useful sail propulsion up to 300 out of 360 degrees.  Just as with a conventional sailboat, the benefits of sailing diminish as you point more aggressively upwind.  Just as when sailing on any boat, when pushing the limits, you need more concentration and need to use sailing techniques. If your goal is sail and do zero paddling, with a Falcon Sail, you can sail with zero paddling on 200+ out of 360 degrees.  When compared to purpose-built sail boats, typically being limited to sailing 270 out of 360, being able to sail 200 out of 360 degrees for only adding a 3.5-pound Falcon Sail to your kayak is very impressive.   So, you can easily sail your kayak 74% of the same lines you can sail your single purpose-built sailboat.   200 / 270 = 74%.

This video shows an up-wind leg, a Falcon Sailor was enjoying on Lake Erie.
As you can see kayak sailing is a lot of fun.

This Falcon Sailor was in a basic 14-foot-long Jackson Journey kayak. This kayak has a round hull bottom that will be slightly beaten by most other kayaks hulls.  So even the not so good kayaks sail pretty darn well. With the airfoil found in a Falcon Sail, all kayaks sail surprisingly well, so choose a kayak for sailing without trying to find one that is the best for some aspect of sailing.  All kayaks and canoes will sail surprisingly well if you have a great airfoil and rig.  Choose a kayak you like without a sail.  The best kayak is almost always the one you already own and like.

Here is another video of a Falcon Sailor making upwind progress with no lee board or dagger board and almost zero paddling. This is a completely generic Kayak (A Jackson Journey) with a standard Falcon Sail on a moderate wind day.  It includes some gps telemetry that makes it easy to see actual movement.  It shows sailing on more than 210 out of 360 possible degrees.   The Jackson Journey being sailed is not the very best kayak for kayak sailing but still performs great like all kayaks do.  If you like a kayak without a sail, you will like it even more with a sail. 

If this Falcon Sailor started paddling and kept the sail properly oriented to the wind and kept some motion to help the hull generate more lateral resistance, there could be useful sail propulsion to within 30 degrees of straight upwind or 300 out of 360 angles of attack.

Using a good sail you will speed up faster, have a higher top end speed, will slow down slower, require less effort to get to your destination, and have less paddle stroke resistance.  You can even make great progress with zero paddling.  Best of all,  you will have more fun and enjoy windy days like never before.

For individuals who maintain that only a sailboat is worth sailing, here are some questions worth reflecting on.

When you go kayaking, you prefer to have zero degrees of sailing?
Do you want to give up on the simplicity of kayaking and attempt to turn your kayak into a highest performance sailboat?

Maximum degrees of sailing with no paddling requires a complex heavy and bulky rig. Falcon Sails fold to the size of an umbrella and are easy to secure to your deck 100% out of the way in seconds. You can then raise a Falcon Sail in seconds, and with decent wind it can push you to your kayak’s maximum-hull speed as well. This is available in a complete kit weighing in at under 3.5 pounds total weight.  So, a Falcon Sail gives great sailing performance on 74% of the angles of attack a complex single purpose sailboat will give.  You can enjoy outstanding sail performance with a Falcon Sail, which weighs less than 3.5 pounds.  It can be lowered in seconds and secured to your deck in a few more seconds—keeping it entirely out of the way. When needed, you can raise it again even faster. There is no easier way to have the best of both worlds of simplicity and impressive sail performance.

If you add a few paddles strokes this 200+ degree number grows to 240 degrees. Add just a few more paddle strokes and you can have useful sail propulsion for 270 degrees and even more. That means you can have useful sail propulsion on 75% of the angles of attack and beyond to over 100% of the same angles of attack a conventional sailboat will provide. I kayak with a compact sail rig will not sail as well as a purpose built sailboat will, but a high performance compact sail will give amazing performance and fun.

People commonly ask how a kayak can have such great performance without a lee board, dagger board, or some other lateral resistance appendage.  

To learn more, see our write up on upwind progress.  Also see our write up on Lee Boards, Dagger boards, and other lateral resistance enhancers.

Sailboat hulls are designed to be as slippery as possible going forward. A byproduct of that is a hull that is slippery in all directions including sideways and also a hull that tends to spin without a big rudder. Sailboats that have no keel or other lateral resistance appendage will slide sideways which makes conventional sail thinking conclude kayaks cannot sail without some kind of lateral resistance enhancer. We prefer the simplicity of a compact sail rig that weighs only pounds without other complications.

Kayak hulls are designed to track and go in a straight line. This is done by having lateral resistance throughout the length of the hull. This design goal to have hull that will track creates a hull that sails surprisingly well.

Conventional purpose-built sailboats will sail 270 degrees out of 360 degrees. No boat can sail 360 degrees. Here are some questions to consider. When you are kayaking or canoeing would you prefer zero degrees of sailing?  200+ degrees of efficient sailing is very attractive if it can be had with a compact light weight pop up sail rig.  When kayaking are you willing to give up on the simplicity of kayaking in an attempt to gain more degrees of sailing with a complex bulky and heavy rig? Do you want to turn your kayak into a sailboat?  Do you want to give up on kayaking and only spend time on the water on single purpose-built sailboats. Falcon Sails weigh in at under 3.5 pounds total & can be lowered and folded to the size of an umbrella then secured to your deck 100% out of the way in seconds.   You can raise a Falcon Sail even faster and it can push any kayak to maximum hull speed on 200+ out of 360 degrees with no paddling and no lateral resistance appendage. At the same with a Falcon Sail, you can have on demand 100% paddle only kayaking any time you like for the best of both words.

If you throw in a few paddle strokes this easy to achieve 200+ degree, no paddle sailing grows to 240 degrees.  Add just a few more paddle strokes and you can have useful sail propulsion for 270 degrees and beyond.  You can put in a light paddling effort and get twice the speed you normally would out of that same paddling effort.  A lot of Falcon kayak sailors will tell you with some paddling, they have useful propulsion at times for 300 out of 360 degrees.  Just like with conventional purpose-built sailboats, when approaching limits, the laws of diminishing returns start to set in. With a Falcon Sail, you can do these things with any kayak. That is with a standard stock kayak or canoe hull.  No lateral resistance appendage or enhancer is necessary.

Many sailors prefer the simplicity and versatility of a kayak with a high-performance compact sail than a complex single purpose sailboat or a complex rig added to a kayak. Keeping the simplicity of a kayak with a compact sail rig that weighs only 3.5 pounds without other complications is very attractive.  You can have 80% of the sailing performance found in a conventional sailboat for 1/10^th of the cost, 1/10^th of the weight, 1/10^th of the complexity and 1/10^th of the bulk. All this can be added to any kayak with a Falcon Sail rig weighing in at 3.5 pounds total weight with the bonus of an on-demand ability to lower it and secured to your deck 100% out of the way in seconds.  You can have the best of both worlds with a compact simplistic and light weight sail rig.  With a Falcon Sail on your generic standard kayak and no lateral resistance enhancer, you can sail some amazing lines.

Lateral resistance enhancers have some downsides.  They add bulk, drag, weight, cost, rigging time, something to break, hardware to manage on the water, and provide no benefit on many angles of attack.  If they are not well made of a proper size & hydro dynamic & low drag design, they will provide even less benefit.  They can be useless and even a hindrance if not well made. Even a well-made lateral resistance enhancer is of no value and can be a hinderance on many angles of attack.

Kayaks are not the only hulls that have a shape that sails well.  Think about how well catamarans such has many Hobie Cats will sail with nothing but their basic hull and no lee boards, dagger boards and no other kind of appendage.  If a hull has natural lateral resistance built into it, lateral resistance enhancers are not needed for decent sailing fun.

Here is an experiment you can think about to show how a loaded kayak or canoe has much more lateral resistance than forward resistance. Take any kayak or canoe that has an adult sitting in it and push it sideways to see how far it will go. You will find it goes no more than 6 feet and will likely stop about 4 feet after you are done pushing it.   Take that same kayak or canoe that has an adult sitting in it and push it forward.  It will glide forward 50 feet and often times even further. This experiment shows that kayaks and canoes have way more lateral resistance in their hulls than forward resistance. In the end, this is why kayaks and canoes sail surprisingly well without the complexity, bulk, weight, and cost of lateral resistance enhancers.  Kayaks are not sailboats, but they will sail 70 to 80% of the lines as a purpose-built sailboat will sail.  This sailing performance can be achieved with the simplicity of any kayak with an efficient sail rig weighing in at under 3.5 pounds total that can be lowered, folded to the size of an umbrella, and secured to the deck 100% out of the way in seconds.