Background

Mill Creek

This journey began with an interest in building a Stitch and Glue kayak - I was getting very close to purchasing plans from CLC and had priced out the main materials locally (easily $500 - 700). The boat I was interested in was the Mill Creek 16.

Hartley

Then I spotted a 16' ply 'kayak' for sale on TradeMe (NZ equivalent of EBay) which I got for $200. This saved a LOT of building time and money and got me on the water.

Here is one of the actual photos from the TradeMe listing.

This boat is a design by Hartley dubbed a 'canoe/kayak' and it was close enough to the Mill Creek to convince me this was a bargain I should not pass up. The hull shape is quite kayak like: fairly low and flat but the very open cockpit seems more like a decked canoe. I call it a canoe-yak. The lines are quite pleasing to the eye, Hartley is no slouch in the design world, even though this is the very small end of his extensive portfolio.

At 16' (actually 15'10") with two seats it seemed perfect for my wife and I or the kids to paddle in. But it felt pretty 'tippy', even with just one in it. I think the position of the seats at the extreme ends of the cockpit did not help. This lead to the idea of a small outrigger on a couple of poles that bolted across the centre of the cockpit. This was an instant improvement: suddenly the boat was rock steady. You could even stand up and walk around, dive off for a swim and climb back on board. It made a great fishing platform for our 2007-08 summer holiday at Hahei (came back with 2 crayfish on our first trip out, and we never got wet ;-) And it still paddled really easily. But I wanted more.

Sailing Canoes

Lurking in the back of my mind was the desire to put up a sail - which began when I saw the CLC Mill Creek could be fitted with a lug rig.

And recently I discovered the class of boats called 'sailing canoes' / 'decked canoes'. If I was to put a conventional rig on my hull it night fit in that category.

Outrigger Canoes

But I had discovered Gary Dierking and his beautiful range of sailing outriggers - I instantly wanted an Ulua.

Living here in New Zealand on the southern end of the South Pacific makes an outrigger an appealing choice.

Gary has done such a good job of understanding and interpreting the sailing outrigger into designs that can be built easily with standard materials and techniques. I reckon this guy is really on to something - and he lives right here in NZ too! I keep reading his book and poring over his website and blog.

I still want an Ulua ( - and a T2 - and a Tamanu), I love the concept: a boat small and light enough to car-top, you can paddle it, you can sail it, bolt on a small outboard - woohoo! It is a stable platform, it moves easily under all forms of power, it is simple and it has that South Pacific feel.

One day I hope to meet Gary and shake his hand - vigorously - he's my hero.

Making do with what I have

But I have a canoe-yak and I'm working with a shoestring budget - pocket change - beer money - (and I still like a beer or 2). So I decided to try and create an outrigger canoe with tacking crab claw rig... starting with my Hartley... on the cheap... gulp. Actually when I decided to go for it I was all enthusiasm and short on knowledge. The further I get into this the more I learn about different styles of hull / rig and the how and why of what they are. Hopefully I make something work before I say 'what was I thinking!' and give up. I have a hull the designer wasn't sure what to call (canoe/kayak). It is wide and low, rather than narrow and tall like a real outrigger canoe. By adding a crab claw sail and outrigger it will have a 'mixed heritage' - some might say mongrel!

Photos and blah to follow showing progress to date...

I have a polytarp crab claw sail cut and sewn, bamboo spars 95% rigged (and maybe 80% dry), 8' S&G ama half done, rudder and leeboard done, wae (thwarts) for akas and leeboard done,  mast partner and mast step done, akas recycled from my earlier kayak-outrigger setup, 2 paddle blanks glued up.

Sail rig and rudder are very much Ulua 'inspired', a lot of it is eyeball, guesstimated, fingers crossed. Just have to finish that ama, paint all this newly made gear and then .... heck, I have to learn to sail ! No worries, Plan B is covered - I already know how to swim. And hey - I can always paddle.