Sailing in the shade

I love sailing, but I hate getting sun burnt, and I live on a land noted for sun damage and skin cancer. I don't want to be covered in SPF sunscreen gunk anymore, and I don't want to dress like some oppressed person. I do want to be able to row with oars, and fish, and sail - however slowly, while sitting in the shade, on protected coastal and inland waters, in light weather, not storm chasing. Already I sail with a wide brimmed hat, long sleeves, gloves, (not sequined), long pants, and foot coverings. Sunburnt feet aren't fun either.

I had an idea for a boat with 3 un-stayed short masts, 1 back from the bow, just forward of the original mast step, and the other 2 at the quarters, supporting short vertical wingsails, and with a horizontal sun shade of light canvas supported across the mast tops, wider than the boat, (maybe with small floats/pool noodles along the side edges), so shade can always be found, except when the sun is at say less than 45 deg. to the horizon, and is not so severe then. Shade shape being rectangular with radiused corners, sort of losenge shaped, not oval/elipse, extending about a foot wider than the hull both sides, and some at the stern.

Researching, I found that solid wings are not a good idea, since they can't be lowered easily in a blow, they raise the centre of gravity, and solid simple symmetrical ones aren't very efficient for my application, according to my readings. So now thinking basically 3 or 4 self tacking boomed jibs, or lateens, and stern sprits to control the stern sails' sheets. Maybe configured with 2 short masts at the gunnels, between the bow and original mast step, and the last 2 at the stern, for better roof support. I know that any heeling will present a 'roof sail' and then adverse activity, possibly resulting in capsize, or excessive leeway while underway. The sails could be lowered, and/or pulled in, before rowing out of trouble, or anchoring, and if problems continue, the shade pulled from its frame and stowed, or used in other ways. Shade frame and the short un-stayed masts could be pulled from their sockets and stowed inside too, if they still add to instability, eg. in a squall.

I'm thinking short masts just 2m - 2.5m high on a 10 foot long plywood dinghy, (see my icon/avatar), maybe shorter, with fibreglass tent struts for the shade cloth perimeter, and a couple of battens abeam front and rear, to support the top across the mast's heads, held by octopus straps or something simple. I have a boat shaped test bed, a 10 foot long dinghy to mess around with, but the concept could also work better on a pram bow barge shaped hull I think. Could have flat topped sails, if beneficial, like the 'big' boats. Unsure of the wing tip winglet effect the roof will have on the sails, or if the roof will cause too much restriction to make the sails useful at all, upsetting linear flow too much. With the centreboard not changing, the sail's combined centre of effort should be roughly centred across it.

I know it won't sail fast, or well, the roof will cause buffeting, probably be a bit noisy in a wind, and look unusual. At least I'll be able to row and fish in the shade, and out of the rain, (if we ever get any). The alternative is a stinking power boat with a shade/bimini, or an expensive electric OB, and I don't want to have to register the hull, much preferring 'free' sail/wind power, sans bureaucracy. Only need to travel a few Km to fish, making 4 -5 knots, and the hull rows well at 3 - 4 Kn as it is.

So what do you think - have I missed anything else obvious and stupid ? Will 4 short masts with sails work under a close low horizontal roof ?
Any suggestions and critique welcome.

Another crazy thought I had: using a large beach umbrella for shade, and as a sail / kite for down wind; not exactly efficient, or easy I imagine. Folds up to stow in a wind. Probably gets in the way of rowing.

 

You could put the shade as low as possible (just above rowing head height) Then put one or two masts above shade and arrange a rig which uses the shade as an end plate to increase efficiency, then the sails can be smaller than you would otherwise need. I'll let you work out how to raise/lower/sheet sails....

 

I've got a full suite (suit?) of spf50 clothing, fisherman's tech stuff and it's helped keep me sunburn free for a number of multiday excursions along the Texas coast where the sun is the dominant feature of the landscape. I've tried some homebrew sunshade assemblies but have gone to a large umbrella, smaller than a beach umbrella as the most versatile and simplest solution. Still cogitating on an adjustable mount.

Stay shaded, Skip

 

I lived in the Florida Keys for ten years, and what you want isn't too difficult to achieve. You don't need anything radical to do it.

On small boats, you can use a mast with a bolt-rope slot with a boom that travels in the same slot . These were the norm for small boats with aluminum masts in the 60's and 70's. You should be able to get mast sections and matching sliding-boom-end hardware from Glen-L and the like. This lets you run a Bimini and just set a roller reefing boom above the Bimini when the Bimini is raised, and lower the boom for full effect when the top is down. This is how I did it for 20 years on several boats from 14' to 30'. The sliding, roller-reefing boom has the added advantage of getting the boom out of the way when you have guests aboard for a sunset beer sail, or for fishing.

If you want a permanent overhead structure, you can integrate the mainsheet and traveler controls into the Bimini frame. These are fairly common on larger boats but can be done on small ones as well.

To block the low angle glare on a small boat, you just need some random object that won't fall in the sea. A small portable solar panel works well. But so does a dock fender or cooler set on the deck. For not-tiny craft, a moveable piece of polarized acrylic a good job. Use a high-contrast linear polarized film applied to clear acrylic.

One sun issue you didn't mention is the reflected sun off the water. I've gotten sun blindness after days of running the intercoastal waterway during a full sun summer week, and it's no joke. Eyes heal very quickly, but I was forced to hang on anchor for two days until I could see again. And it was 125 below in the afternoon. Of course, it doesn't have to be hot to suffer from this. Snow blindness is the same thing. And retina burn is more of a problem when the sun is lowish and the water is smooth. Use good, polarized, double gradient glacier sunglasses with actual glass lenses, antireflective back coatings, and side shields.

https://www.rei.com/c/glacier-sunglasses

Having said all that, 10' won't work. You'd be better off with an 18-21 foot canoe. You need some decent weight to be comfortable on a boat. Maybe 600 - 700 pounds for the hull and a similar amount for payload. Then you can move about and rig some shade. A ten footer will be lucky to do 2 knots. I probably averaged about 4 in my 16'er over 20 years. My 28'er averaged about 4.5. My 38'er averaged about 5. All of them ran 4 knots under power and consumed about 3 gallons of fuel per 10-hour day.

 

I thought about a beach tent once. Canvas, modern silver ripstop materials. All have the disadvantage of being a sail. Net may be a solution. Low air resistance but reflecting light rays.

 

I never thought about putting sails above a low shady roof. With that setup I could be as experimental and as kooky as I can for sail propulsion. Have a velcro or zipper opening down the centre of the shade, so can pop through it to reef sails, then stick it back together after ?

Maybe a self tacking blade jib to the deck if possible, over the front of the shade, and a short cat style high roach main sail, with several reefing points may work.

The clothes I wear block the sun, but my head has to stick out to enjoy sailing; a smaller umbrella is a good idea; I was thinking of big beach size, but too awkward.

Some good tips there Phil thanks, I could do the boom idea with a stayed mast, and the glacier sunglasses sound interesting, I'll have to look into them, (get it).

Net, - make it shade cloth, could work, but heavier than thin opaque material like silvered synthetic tent material. I'd prefer to use something less plastic, like cotton or canvas.

Any other suggestions, not details, just suggestions.

Still wondering about the aerodynamic effects of a roof under, or over, an array of small sails, and effective sail shapes to try. I imagine the sails under roof idea would be severely compromised by the cockpit cavity disturbing air flow. Sails above probably better power but more awkward to use.