I have added a "safety sponson" to prevent capsize from leaning too far away from the ama. The ama weighs only 7 lbs and with an overall beam of only 4' there have been a couple accidental capsizes by friends while paddling. The possibility of capsizing has always made me nervous too, and made me afraid to sail it in all but the very lightest wind. The new sponson solves the problem and still allows enough space to paddle between it and the hull. The sponson can slide right up against the hull if I need to enter or exit from a dock. The background is Port Angeles Harbor from Ediz Hook, the sand spit that forms the bay, with some of the Olympic Mountains in the background.

I spent some time at a local lake, Lake Sutherland, this summer where it was warm enough to not mind getting wet, unlike the local 50° saltwater. This picture shows the stability offered by the sponson, which is 4" square and 8' long. The top is 1/4" ply and the pink foam is covered with one layer of 6 oz glass and epoxy.

I capsized the boat by submerging the ama and pulling the hull over. The ama displaces about 60 lbs, small enough to submerge but enough buoyancy to lift the main hull mostly out of the water as it rolls upright. This picture shows the beginning of the righting sequence. The Mirage drive hole makes a handy place to grip the hull.

As the hull rolls upright, most of the water bails itself out at about 90°. I didn't get a picture of the moment the boat flipped back upright, but in this picture I have swum around to the other side and submerged the ama again to get more water out. With a bit more foam in the ama, it would bail itself completely.

Climbing back in is easy between the ama and the main hull. There is no risk of re-capsizing.

This is all the water that was still in the boat after righting. With my weight at one end, this shows the deeper end of the pool. Spread out evenly, it would be about an inch or so. The water level in the Mirage drive well shows the usual draft, about 4".

A couple years ago I tried sailing with a small tarp lugsail. As I mentioned, I never developed the sailing rig because of fear of capsizing in cold water. This summer after making the safety sponson, I sewed up a little sprit sail from tarp and had a good time sailing on the bay and the lake. I have been sailing it as a tacking outrigger rather than a shunting proa, as it is not worth switching the sail to the other end and with the banana shaped paddling ama and sponson I try to keep both of them out of the water as much as possible on both tacks. I especially enjoy sailing it with the ama to windward, just kissing the surface or flying just above it, but it is a balancing act to keep it there with the main hull being only about 16" wide at the waterline and the windforce fluctuating quickly. The sail looks better when there is some wind in it.

Last weekend I took the boat to Port Townsend, 45 miles from here, and was lucky to find a used sail in the local marine salvage store for $60. It was an almost perfect fit for my 14' windsurfer mast and sprit boom, so with the tools and a few screws I had with me I got it to work and had a great time for few hours sailing along the waterfront of this Victorian maritime town, the home of the Port Townsend Wooden Boat show. It is a Neil Pryde sail about 45 sf from a Quartermaster 8 dinghy made locally by Vashon Boat Works.