How to Attach Sails to Kayaks

When kayaking many miles during a long day, it helps to have the wind at your back to push you along. To maximize a tailwind, consider adding a sail to your kayak. A sail gathers more wind and pushes you along at faster speeds, which means less work to cover the same distance. After a long day of paddling, you'll welcome the help. Attaching modern kayak sails requires no modifications to your kayak or specialized tools.

Instructions

    • 1

      Locate a deck fitting, the plastic part that holds the deck line to the kayak, on the kayak's front deck. Find one with a matching counterpart on the kayak's opposite side. Some kayak sails mount closer to the cockpit than others. Typically, V-shaped sails mount nearer to the bow than round sails. Check the manufacturer's instructions or website for specific distances.

    • 2

      Pull the sail's webbing straps under the deck line in front of the fitting and then back under the deck line behind the fitting on each side of the boat. This wraps the webbing around the fitting and prevents the sail from sliding forward when filled with wind, or backward when stowing.

    • 3

      Clip the side-release buckle on the webbing strap into the buckle on the mast step, the part at the base of the sail. This secures the webbing strap and sail. Pull the webbing strap on each side of the kayak tight. Some sails use a ladder lock; instead of clipping, thread the webbing through the ladder lock buckle and pull it tight.

    • 4

      Clip the two front trim lines, one on each side of the sail, on a V-shape sail into the kayak's bow grab handle. Run the rear trim lines to the cockpit and clip them into the deck line using the included hardware. Round sails don't use front trim lines.