The Mini Outriggers are to add stability to a sailing canoe or small dinghy and aid stability to reduce the risk of capsize on other relatively slender boats. They are set above the water to allow a sailing canoe or narrow dinghy to be sailed normally and are intended only to touch down when heel exceeds a certain amount.
We will have a purchase link to our Agents once they have set up their webpages with this new plan.
Hull Specs
Hull Length – 3.5ft (1.050m)
Hull Beam – 8″ (200mm)
Hull depth in middle of hull – 10″ (258mm)
Max hull depth (line drawn from top of bow to middle stern transom and perpendicular to hull keel) – 320mm
Volume – 50lbs (22kg)
Weight – 5lbs if 3 or 4mm Gaboon Plywood. More with other plywood
Crossbeam
Length – Beam/width of middle hull + 1650mm (Beam/width of middle hull + 65″)
Material – Fir or other medium density timber
Plan Price – $40
There are many applications for the Mini Outriggers for Canoes and kayaks. From beginners to allowing an extra margin of safety to experienced sailors doing more adventurous sailing
In this way they should not alter boat performance. And because they are short and have a small volume they don’t need a strong crossbeam.
They are not my original idea. The original manufactured Mini Outriggers are made by Solway Dory UK and developed by David Stubbs among others. They manufacture in the UK and don’t export.
For an overview of Mini Outrigger types and an excellent outline of the approach to use see
Mini Outriggers on the Open Canoe Sailing Group website (well worth the visit).
Here is our Kombi Canoe design using Inflatable outriggers. The inflatable outriggers are compact when not in use, but create a lot of drag and because they swivel they may not provide enough buoyancy in a completely predictable way. Part of the reason I’ve designed these plywood ones. But perfect technique here … not letting the outrigger hulls touch the water.
Video image can take a moment to load.
Construction of Mini Outrigger Hulls and Crossbeam
The outrigger hulls are 3 or 4mm plywood (1/8 or 5/32″)
They are stitch and glue with three internal bulkheads and a flat bottom – the below is one of the working drawings, not the final.
The crossbeam itself is simplified. It is possible to make a laminated plywood crossbeam. But here we use a simple 6:1 scarf to produce the dihedral angle to keep the crossbeams above the water.
What the Mini Outriggers for Canoes Don’t do; for Beginner (canoe) Sailors
For learners and those new to Sailing Canoes, the outrigger hulls do not have sufficient volume for sailing full time with one of the outriggers in the water.
If you want to progress in sailing then every time the outrigger touches the water is a FAIL. It means that you have not adjusted your hiking position or trimmed the sail soon enough.
If you use the outriggers in this way – as a warning that what you are doing is not good technique then you will progress in your sailing as if the outriggers are not there.
If wanting to sail full time on outriggers then they need to be longer and more slender. And they need two crossbeams because one is not enough when the hulls are longer. I have the Drop In Outrigger Plan for full time sailing on the outrigger hull.
Here is a photo of a Eureka Canoe using the Drop in Outriggers that are much bigger than the Mini Outriggers and require two crossbeams. Drop In Outrigger Plan.
What the Mini Outriggers for Canoes Don’t Do; For Intermediate Level Sailors
One of the trademarks of Experienced Sailors is that they know what not to do. And they know and have tested all their gear.
They will only sail in conditions that they can sail … without the outriggers. But they use the outriggers to reduce the problems if something goes wrong or something unexpected happens.
Intermediate sailors must remember that they should only go out in conditions that they would normally go out in. The outriggers will not save you from capsize if a serious mistake is made.
Capsize and Recovery
First of all … making the hulls bigger will not only require two crossbeams, but will also make the boat harder to get upright if it does capsize.
I will add notes from experienced users about capsize recovery. The notes here are my initial take.
It is important that any boats using this method practice a capsize drill … because it is changed a bit.
- Stand on the underside of the crossbeam to sink the outer hull – it has about 50lbs of buoyancy which has to be overcome initially. The deeper it goes the less effective the 50lbs is at floating up, so the deeper you get it, the easier it is to push down.
- When the outrigger hull is past the deepest point take your weight off the structure and allow the whole boat to float up so that excess water in the main hull is drained … then let the outrigger hull right the boat. Hold onto something firmly as you don’t know if the boat will be powered up or not when it comes up.
- If you put your weight on the boat and crossbeam through the whole righting process … there will be additional water in the cockpit equal to your weight … or more.
More on Mini Outriggers including capsize from the UK Open Canoe Sailing Group.
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