Jomano was ready for sailing upon delivery. However, after a few trips we thought a few modifications and additions could make her even better.
The first thing was to replace the kicker, which was harder than necessary to tension and release in stronger winds. We used a Harken 3:1 kicker system from a Topper dinghy which works well.
A set of tell tales were attached to the sail and a ‘little hawk’ wind indicator was bought to clip onto the mast. These are particularly useful for the fluky katabatic winds in the mountainous areas we sail.
We wanted to add a log and compass. Mechanical paddle logs are not practical to install in a sailing canoe, so we used a Velocitek SpeedPuck GPS speed display. The Compass is a Silva 70P. We attached them to a ‘dashboard’ made from an old Drascombe mast thwart.
Seating is provided by a pair of moveable bench seats that sit level with the deck. We found from the start they only get in the way, so we removed them and have not used them since the first outing. We either sit on the rear/side decks or cockpit sole. There are foot straps for hiking out.
When paddle-sailing or sailing in light winds single handed, it is useful to be able to sail ‘hands free’ at times. The tiller is taken care of by a loop of elastic as standard. You can get away with your foot to hold the mainsheet, but a proper swivel jammer and ratchet block is much better! It has been fitted to a piece of timber that attaches using the standard seat slides, so can be deployed/removed very easily and quickly. Be careful to only use this arrangement in light winds though, unless you need capsize practice!
