Jomano – Jomano the sailing canoe

30 March 2021

Anchoring, Sleeping and Cooking

Anchoring

Jomano is very easy to pull onto a beach or tie up alongside a river bank. This significantly reduces the need to anchor. It is sometimes still useful to be able to anchor in a bay or inlet for a peaceful lunch though, or even necessary sometimes for the night. In a small boat it is important to securely stow anchors and chains when sailing – you certainly do not want it to fly or deploy in a capsize. With that in mind, as well as the waters we typically explore, we have a 3.2 kg grapnel anchor with 2 metres of chain and 30 metres rope in a heavyweight PVC bag (with securing loops). We also have a “FOB Light” aluminium alloy anchor in its own padded bag (2 kg, but according to the manufacturer is equivalent to a 6kg steel anchor). This is a French version of the Fortress design.

Deploying an anchor from the bow can be tricky in a sailing canoe, so we have rigged a continuous loop line with a carbine attached for the anchor rode to pass through. This means we can easily drop and raise the anchor from within the cockpit.

Sleeping and Cooking

Boat Tent

With just the Skipper onboard, accommodation is in the boat with a camping mat on the sole. During fine nights, this will be under the stars with just a blanket, also a bivvy bag if additional warmth is required. Where greater protection from the weather or mosquitos is needed, or for privacy, Jomano’s boat tent is deployed. This is an australian canvas swag that happens to be a perfect fit, with a section of the floor cut out. It can be erected and packed away while on the water. With Crew, a small two man hiking tent is used on shore. All camping equipment is stored in the forward stowage locker.

The Galley

An ancient but ultra-reliable Trangia stove is used for cooking. Originally it came with the alcohol burner, but we added the gas burner option to make it a bit more user friendly, working with screw on gas cartridges available in Decathlon or supermarkets. The stove, crockery, cutlery, matches and washing up gear are secured in the camp kitchen box (a plastic storage box bought from the local supermarket).

11 December 2020

A few modifications

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!

8 December 2020

Who is Jomano?

Jomano is a Solway Dory Shearwater sailing canoe, built to the Skipper’s specification by Dave and Dave in their barn in the Northumbrian Lake District, UK, before being transported to her home port (garden) in Central France.

Her length overall (LOA) is 16ft (4.9m), with a beam of 40 inches (101 cm).

She is fitted with a freestanding 5m² bermudan rig and kick-up leeboard and rudder. A pair of outriggers (offering approx 50 lbs buoyancy each) can also be fitted for coastal sailing or stronger winds. For safety, there are buoyancy tanks and watertight hatches fore and aft. The front starboard side tank can be opened and flooded in a capsize to make it easier to get back on board. She has been built with a GRP hull and plywood decks. Jomano can be sailed, paddle sailed, or just paddled (with or without the sailing rig). We haven’t weighed her, but believe the hull to be about 40-43 kg; the Skipper can get her on the roof of the Land Rover on his own (although it is easier with two people).

The Skipper has owned a variety of boats including canoes, kayaks, rowing skiffs, racing catamarans and dinghies, and larger comfortable cruisers. The last of these, a fast Jeanneau 32 footer was sold because 3 new children combined with the demands of work meant she was just not being used. It didn’t help she was berthed on the other side of the sea, and every month the marina fees kept coming. Some years later, an old Drascombe Lugger was acquired to teach the children how to sail. Slow and steady, but still fun, easy to get to different sailing areas and no mooring fees! However, at times we did get a bit fed up with pulling a trailer and launching and recovery which always seemed to take longer than it should. We wondered if we could go even smaller, and stumbled across the Solway Dory sailing canoes on the internet. We had never seen one or sailed anything like it, but after a few telephone discussions with the builder an order was placed and build slot reserved. We did wonder about this impulse buy on the long drive to the north of England and back to France, but as soon as she was launched for the first time, we realised it was a genius decision! So easy and practical to explore areas near and far, launching from almost anywhere, accessing waters not possible with other boats and loads of fun to sail and paddle. The only downside is she will not accommodate the whole family, but at times that can also be an advantage..

A few photos taken during Jomano’s build: