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Equipment
by Christopher Cunningham |
 If Luke Skywalker runs out of whatever
it is that powers his X-wing Fighter and brings the
Star Wars conflict to the coast, he'll probably be
paddling something like a Triak. Its forward sweeping
wing and array of appendages give it an other-worldly
appearance and a fair bit of speed. The Triak is
not a kayak with a sailing conversion: its main hull,
with its semicircular section, 21-inch beam and high
seat, is designed for speed and requires the floats
for stability. Sitting in the cockpit reminded me
of a racing K1, but without fear of capsize. The
narrow hull allows pulling the paddle close by the
hips and the seat position is high, for a powerful
paddling stroke.
The fully-rigged Triak weighs 95 pounds without the
floats and wing; the main hull weighs 75 pounds. It
is a heavy load. While it is possible to carry it,
I spared my back and used a cart to get it across the
beach. Even with the stern wheels the weight at the
bow was a bit of work to lift: a midship cart would
be the best way to go. The large aft hatch and deep
compartment made it easy to stow the wheels aboard
and offered a lot of space for cruising gear. Assembling
the boat on the beach took under five minutes. Two
bolts attach the wing to the hull and another pair
fixes the floats to the wing tips. Within eight minutes
I was afloat and under sail, having deployed the rudder
and centerboard, rotated the foils into the down position
for sailing, and erected the sailing rig. By pulling
the outboard end of the boom aft the sail spreads out
and the bipod supporting the mast stands up and lifts
the rig all in one motion. An ingenious design.
A kayaker may be put off by the number of lines leading
to the cockpit: three sheets, one halyard, a downhaul,
an outhaul, a centerboard line and two rudder control
lines. For a sailor, though, this spaghetti is a comfort.
There is something to fiddle with. The lines differ
in size and color, so eventually I could make sense
of them.
I used the spinnaker and an un-reefed main. I took
the Triak out a number of times in various winds up
to 20 miles per hour and waves up to two feet. By far
the Triak's best point of sail is reaching across the
wind. Even with light winds the Triak can generate
a satisfying bit of speed, as fast as you could paddle
but without the work. It could make a fellow lazy.
As the Triak goes faster the hydrofoils generate more
lift and counter the pressure on the sail. I usually
leaned out over the water to windward to help the foils.
When the wind's up, the buoyancy of the floats isn't
enough to resist the rolling force of the sails. (The
low buoyancy of the floats makes it possible to right
the kayak in the event of a capsize—you just
step on the wing to drive one float under and roll
the boat upright. The floats provide enough stability
to steady the boat while you climb back in and bail
the water out.) In variable winds the Triak loses speed—and
hydrofoil lift—in the lulls. When the gusts
hit and catch the Triak coasting, the foils don't
have enough speed to keep the floats from being driven
under. The risk of capsize is not immediate, but
it is necessary to ease the sheets until the Triak
gathers more speed.
The Triak will sail to windward, but it needs coaxing
along. I found it hard to tack, and often had to get
the paddle out to get the bow through the wind. Like
all sailboats, the Triak can't take the wind head-on
under sail. You can stow the sail and pick up the paddle
and make better progress to weather than you would
tacking back and forth.
The rig stows on the foredeck just as quickly as it
goes up. A pair of bungies wrap across the sail and
spars to tidy up the bundle.
I had expected the floats would make paddling the Triak's
weak point, but that didn't turn out to be the case.
The floats didn't seem to add much drag. The test model
had the advantage of the high performance foils (optional)
which can be pivoted out of the water when paddling.
The wing and the floats are out of the way of normal
forward paddling strokes. I could feel the weight of
the Triak when coming up to speed, but once underway
it made good speed. The high seat provided a powerful
paddling position, although I lost some power because
the foot pedals were a bit spongy. I was surprised
to find I could paddle the Triak at 43/4 to 5 knots
at a sustainable rate. In a sprint I could hit 6 knots.
You can't edge the Triak to turn it, so the rudder
is essential for steering. Sweep strokes help somewhat,
but if you reach out too far you'll hit the float.
 There are a few bugs in the test model that need to
be worked out: there is no handy place to stow a paddle
or the device to rotate the foils. The aft hatch leaked
a bit because its gasket joint had parted. The prototype
dodger that came with the boat wasn't effective in
keeping breaking waves out of the cockpit (the manufacturer
supplies a full enclosing spray skirt as standard equipment).
I'd also carry a few spare parts to back up hardware
for the hydrofoils and sailing rig. But, in general,
everything performed well.
A Triak owner might be the odd man out in a group of
kayaks, but not because he couldn't keep up with standard
kayaks. Under paddle, the Triak would hold its own
with most kayaks and, under sail, especially off the
wind, it will leave the rest behind (unless it tows
them). The Triak is an exciting boat for day sailing,
and it opens up some possibilities for making long
cruises with high-mileage days.
phone...800.601.9001
web... www.diamondmind.com/triak
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