A fresh rain smell was in the air this morning, the unmistakable fragrance of spring. I'm looking forward more than usual to mild temps- to a day when I can really test the canoe rig. I've been using this time to do more research on different rigs and different ways to effectively use outriggers ("amas", as they are called in the islands where they were first used). The lessons I've learned from the first trial are these: 1) I need to use lighter material for sail cloth, maybe a rip-stop nylon, to be really suited for a small boat in light wind. Also a thinner and lighter boom, although I'm sticking with the current one until I've sailed in gustier conditions and I'm convinced it is more than I need. 2) Zip-ties DO NOT work as mast hoops to connect the sail to the mast (think shower curtain rings). They simply don't slide up the mast when tugging on the main halyard. 3) I will eventually (and probably soon) need to turn the entire boat around in order to be more balanced. Typically canoes are not completely symmetric- they don't look the same going forward and backward. The rear seat is closer to the stern than the front seat is to the bow (the front seat is set a little further back, closer to the middle). This is, of course, so there is room for the legs of the paddler in the front. But when you're alone, it would make for better balance to sit more towards the middle (sit in the front seat, but backwards). This would put me further away from the back and would necessitate a tiller (a handle attached to the paddle that's tied to the stern as a rudder- basically an extension for the rudder). I will post what I've learned in my reading later this week. This is enough technical stuff for one post. Here's a pic of a dude way more serious than I am... so far.