Cruiser sails are recommended for kayaks, canoes, inflatables, tandems and expedition boats from fourteen to eighteen feet in length with a target wind range of 5 to 30 knots. The Cruiser sail is the largest Wind Paddle sail with a deployed sail area of 17.1 square feet. The Adventure and Scout sails unfurl to a sail area of 9.62 square feet. You can see the difference in the picture showing the Adventure sail in front of the Cruiser sail.

The Playak reviewer, Hans Heupink, was quite impressed with the Cruiser, saying “most important for me is the versatility of the Windpaddle. You can use it on any craft and it doesn’t turn a kayak or canoe into a complex, heavy sailing craft.”  “The boats stay real kayaks and canoes, I can paddle them like I always did, and when I want I can catch the wind with the Windpaddle.” I heartily agree with Hans on these points, especially since I paddle an inflatable kayak. The sail I use has to be light, easy to attach and allow me the opportunity to sail when I want and paddle when I want.

Hans goes into much more detail in the Wind Paddle Cruiser review and gives the reader a complete look at all the important facets of the operation from the design through the setup and the handling of the Cruiser sail. You can check out the complete Wind Paddle Cruiser review here.

Watch these Wind Paddle demonstration videos for more information about how these sails work well with inflatable kayaks.

Even though paddling a kayak is a lot of fun, sometimes you’d like to do something different on the water, like sailing, but don’t want to buy a regular sailboat for an occasional wind-aided ride. There are two sails on the market that make it very easy to convert your kayak to a sailboat. The WindPaddle kayak sail and Sea Eagle’s newest product, the QuikSail. Both sails are reasonably priced and don’t require additional hardware or rigging to be added to the kayak.

These sails are completely independent accessories and that’s why buying someone a kayak sail might be a really good gift. You’ll be adding to the paddler’s options without making them alter their kayak setup. Another great thing about these sails is that they will fit almost any type of kayak, folding kayaks, hard shell models or inflatable kayaks.

The sails are totally different in design. The WindPaddle Sail opens up into a circular sail that allows you to sail downwind with very little breeze. Weighing in as light as 13 ounces (the Adventure & Scout models), the WindPaddle stows on deck in a small folded coil 1/8th its deployed size. It’s available in 3 models for kayaks and small boats and the Makani sail is made for stand up paddle boards.

Sea Eagle has designed the QuikSail universal kayak sail in a more traditional upright v-shape. When favorable winds blow your way, it can be deployed in less than a minute. The QuikSail not only works well downwind, but because of it’s more traditional sail design, will sail up to 45 degrees to the port or starboard. It collapses to around 43 inches for storage.

As I mentioned, although both of these sails were designed with kayaks in mind, they work well with other small boats, too, so keep them in mind as gifts for other water fanatics on your list, too.

Next week I’ll wrap up our gift suggestion series with more groovy gift ideas for paddlers. Until then, keep your paddle in the water and your butt in the boat!

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be recommending some products for the paddlers on your gift list, but before I do I want to preface these suggestions with some words of advice … do a little research first.

Whatever the hobby or pastime, hunting, fishing, rock climbing, golf, antique collecting, scrap booking or anything that captures a person’s passion, there’s always a point where you become fairly particular about the tools you use. Often, even someone who casually pursues a hobby can be selective about their golf clubs, fishing pole or kayak paddle. This is where the research comes in.

You will actually want to research your gift for a couple reasons. One being that you want to give someone a gift that they will like and really use and not want to return. The other being that your gift reflects on that person’s impression of you. For example, if you get them something that they like and is useful, they will know that you put some thought into the gift. You’ve heard the term “It’s the thought that counts”, well it does!

Here are a couple examples …

Inflatable Kayaks:
Sea Eagle inflatable kayak packages are as low as $199, so it’s not a stretch for someone to buy a package as a gift. Even the packages that run up to $1000 can sometimes be looked at as gifts. It’s encouraging to know that you can get a lot of boat for a little money when buying a portable kayak or boat.

Inflatable Kayaks – What to research?
Make sure that the person you’re buying for would actually like an inflatable kayak. It may save them some storage room and they wouldn’t have to use a car carrier anymore, but they may not like the way inflatable kayaks track in the water. There are lots of articles in this blog where you can research the differences between hard shell, folding and inflatable kayaks including my inflatable kayak reviews based on customer comments.

Another important thing to remember with inflatable kayaks or inflatable boats or crafts of any kind is that it’s not like buying a paddle or life vest or book for someone who already goes kayaking or paddleboarding or whatever. DON’T buy a kayak package for someone who hasn’t kayaked or that you “think” they would like it. Research by asking their friends, spouses, etc., then make an educated decision. If you KNOW that the person WOULD ACTUALLY LIKE an inflatable or folding kayak, then go for it. If you don’t KNOW FOR SURE, then DON’T GO THERE!

Every year I hear about someone who thinks they know what they’re buying and they don’t. The husband that just looked at the box and said “what the hell is this? I don’t want a kayak.” The Mom that thought her son should get more exercise and the son totally rejected the gift. Or the person who does kayak, but only wants a hard shell kayak and has no use for “blow up boats”.

Paddles:
Could be a good bet when buying as gift for a paddler. There are still some areas where research is crucial, like a kayak paddle or stand up paddle, since they can be items that a paddler can get particular about. However, some paddlers just don’t want to spend the extra dollars and you can upgrade their experience with a higher quality paddle. It’s worth looking into.

Other Accessories:
Accessories are probably the best area to look into for the paddler on your list. There are so many varied possibilities, but I’ll mention a few. Portable sails, such as the WindPaddle can give almost any small boat the option of ‘sailing’. Books and Videos on a person’s particular outdoor interest can be a thoughtful gift. There are also specific accessories depending on what type of kayaking that person participates in, such as a foot rest, a paddle float, a specific type of life vest or sunglasses. How to decide? Do some research?

In the end, I’m not trying to discourage you from buying something specifically related to the paddler or boater on your list, I’m only trying to help you get them the gift that they’ll remember and appreciate the most.

Next week I’ll have some specific, detailed suggestions for you. So, until then, keep your paddle in the water and your butt in the boat!

My wife and I have used the Adventure sail for a couple years now and have found that folding it while in the boat can be a bit tricky. The Scout addresses this issue.

The WindPaddle “Scout” is made to be unfurled in low to medium winds (4 to 15 knots). Even though it opens to the same size as the Adventure sail (42 inches), the “Scout” is lighter, making it the lightest, most affordable and easiest to use sail currently on the market.

The WindPaddle™ Scout Sail is best suited for solo recreational boats to touring kayaks from 8 to 15 feet in length. The Scout is the perfect sail for smaller inflatable kayaks!

Our first paddling venture was on Lake Superior in the bay below the statue of Bishop Baraga between L’Anse and Baraga. I’m working on a historical video feature about the statue and I wanted to shoot some video from out on the lake towards the bluff where the statue has stood for almost 40 years.

It was cold and windy day, much colder and windier than we usually paddle in, but I wanted to get that video from the lake and seeing we don’t get up that way very often, we decided to brave the cold … Brrrr!

We inflated the boat then got in the car to warm up before heading out to paddle. There were some small white caps, a bit choppier than we are normally in, but when you have a destination in mind, you just have to get out there and do it. And, we did! Got some good video for my story. Once we had the boat loaded in the trunk and back in the nice warm car, we both decided that it really wasn’t all that bad after all and will be a fun memory of our trip.

A couple days later, the temperatures were a bit warmer and we managed to put the boat in one more time. My sister, Gretchen wanted to go for a paddle, so once again we braved the wind and cold to put the kayak in the water. We were just a block away from the boat launch area in Hubbell, so we put in there. My sister had never been in an inflatable kayak and was surprised how easily it inflated and how quickly we could get it in the water. Once she got the rhythm of paddling we were moving along quite well, though she didn’t want to get too far out from shore. We were still in some choppy water, but she felt confident the boat was stable. We did cut the ride short because the wind was biting, but she did enjoy the paddle.

One thing that we did have another chance to try out was our Wind Paddle Sail. We’ve used it on a few occasions, but not always in the best conditions. The wind this week was probably the best sailing winds we have had. One of the tricky things to learn is folding the WindPaddle into it’s compact form. Recently I had gotten some practice getting it folded and connecting it to the boat correctly. Now I have it down to where I can confidently fold it up even while sitting in the kayak. With a little more practice and a few more windy days, we should have an even better feel for using the sail. I must say that having used it this last time, it was a nice addition to our paddling experience.

If you get a chance to travel to the Upper Peninsula, you will find so many great places to kayak. Or if you are simply looking for a great scenic vacation destination, the U.P. is someplace you should definitely consider.