couple of things to consider.
for the size of the yacht they sail with a massive sail area.
AUS230 had one on lefroy and had massive sails up to 8m , and frequently snapped masts.
I have a yacht that size that has a 4m rig.
you have to imagine that it has a sailboard rig that doesnt rake back or to windward as you accelerate, kind of like holding itself in a low gear. you could improve its performance by having a traditional mast and sail set up behind you, and then by moving the mast forward and the pilot back ,improve it again.
way back in the 30's a really smart person changed the way iceyachts were balanced when they designed the DN ice yacht,
the DN idea was adopted in landyachts in the 50's and off they went.
the cost of the assorted pulleys alone would be enough to build a really fast mini..
Personally , I feel that the iceflyer set up is a step backwards in design for a landyacht, but of course, thats only my opinion, partly based on what I considered poor performance on the 1 iceflyer Ive seen sailing..
the owner , who eventually scrapped and burned the yacht will probably now disagree with me.
over to you Vic
Depends what you want in a yacht. They do no tack well but can be prety fast otherwise.(Mine actualy went faster than my 5 in strong winds.
They can handle a huge range of sail sizes(I used from 5m up to 10m)
They can still be sailed safely in winds that I would consider suicidle in my class5
They are a fun project to build (all wood)
A nice yacht to tour around in with good vision and sit up position.
DOWN SIDE
not a recognised race class (love to race one if there where a few around)
Take quite a bit of time to set up
Would I build one again, yes if there were more around to sail against.
I still have the web site where the plans can be down loaded (not avaible on the origanal site)
cheers
aus230
