over the weekend a few of us took great delight at having a sneeky little sail in hummingbird , a tiny little kids mini that has a wheelbase of 1050mmx1050mm.
we managed around 20kph........
BUT , charlotte(age 8) has achieved a PB of 39.9kph in this yacht.
So , heres the challenge
Design AND build a sit-on landyacht with a SMALLER wheelbase than Hummingbird, then break Charlottes PB by sailing , infront of witnesses, with a GPS,in opposite directions( this prevents a downhill run).
the prizes are rare lasercut keyrings of the original VIKING sailed on lake lefroy in 1898, and accompanying certificate .
you have till the end of the year to do it , so get thinking.
given the sheer lack of size the possibilities for materials and recycling are fantastic .Originality and novelty will be judged by acclaim, so Im offering 3 categories
first to break the speed
fastest for 2011
most popular design
off to work folks
Im thinking get up in the morning, build it , first sail straight after lunch, home for minor mods, test next day clean and paint.
humming bird was thought up whilst sitting in a qeue. I started building at 3.00pm , hung up to paint at 5.30, next coat at 6.00am next day.
the sail took 4 hrs to make from scratch
do we call them
Miniminis or Hummingbirds
youve gotta get smaller than this this could end in pain, but thats the price of progress
Now Landy you say..........you achieved 20kph 
and "The Sprog" did considerably better a [PB] even 
no photo or official weigh in snap of "The Sprog", so who
do we have to tromp into the ground 
. Can we send
our contenders over for "The Sprog" to evaluate our reasonably
built, lowly priced, constant motion machines........That would be fair?? 
Hey Mister Murray!!
Charlottes pic is there- she is holding the "LANDYACHT SAYS" sign!
and that Hummingbird is a real beauty- our son had a great time at Lefroy a while back learning to sail and doing broggies/ tipping over, getting airborn and ramming a parked 4wd....
both brodie and hummingbird survived without any damage!
When I tried a quick blast in hummingbird I found it a bit sluggish compared to a regular mini- but then at the time I weighed about 3 1/2 times more than Brodie, and the mini I had been using had a lot more sail up than Hummingbird.
On salt or concrete/ bitumen they would be fine, I think on grass you would have too much drag and most likely be on your side before you got rolling.
. Can we send 
So Landy.......How many Contenders have accepted?? 
How big was the mast ? an the sail ?
Why do we have to have smaller wheels ? 
I have found my material... a unusably bench press set
that needs remodeling. no photos until end of project dec 1 2011
Does it have to be sit down?
I just don't feel comfortable pulling ropes to make my sails go...
so dont let me stop you.
you just reminded me of a little tiny cammed surf sail I had stached away, thanx
my first attempt is in at 1000mm wide x1030 long, It may get shorter having fallshaws at the back makes it veryyyy cosy to fit in.( eblbow pads for sure.
2.5hrs labour to get a rolling chassis
thats allowing for all the mates coming over to do jobs and a grumpy loved one who is wondering why Im not in the house painting and busted me , chassis in hand. she asked why i was building a model.
sorry darling , the addiction is back after the summer break.
I reckon a tall , narrow foot , big head sail to get going , then lay off, at speed. Ive recently got my hands on 2 original WINDSURFER masts , little skinny, blue flexy masts, which will allow me to survive a gust( i hope)
1000mm to the outside of the rear wheels and 1030mm axle centres?????
Geez with fallshaw wheels, I wouldn't have any skin left on my hips.
Too much work on at the moment, so will have to be a winter project.
definitely gonna need elbow pads.
whilst painting bits tonight , I realized I hadn't built any way to steer the the front wheel, OOPS
I will dream up something tonight , I hope
stuff up number 2 , the sides of the seat contracted when the glass/resin hardened.
I couldnt get my skinny rear in, so a chop and reglass last night, resanded and painted today, still doing a big think on the steering. sorry no photos, camera is dead and gone for warranty work
steering done , is there anybody else out there having a go at this
or will all the pain be mine
Dammit Landyacht you've got me all excited!
4 hours later and I realise that the finished build has a wheelbase of 1080 mm... bugger.
Oh well I'll see how fast it goes tomorrow :-)
I started cutting a sail today and after I finished cutting it out , it was woeful. I realized that I had just chopped a 5.6m cammedRAF sail into useless bits, not a good day, so I stopped what I was doing and will go back fresh tommorow.
go for it nebbs
Hmmm I happen to have a complete 5.6 cammed RAF sail sitting all rolled up in the garage [}:)], Shame it didn't work out with yours...
there's no way I'd take it out on a land sailer though... that would just be scary
I'm thinking 4.5m for its first outing, with loads of downhaul.
Btw my discovery of today was that Bunnings, although selling metal wheels with bearings fitted that have an inside diameter of 1/2", only sell round bar in 12mm, not 12.5mm... So the wheels are quite wobbly.
If anyone has any tips on how to pack this out with something then I'm all ears.
Also are split pins considered an acceptable method of locating a wheel on a shaft? I really didn't want to use threaded rod for the axle.
Clarification of the rules please:
Can the seat be adjustable?
And does it have to be solidly mounted to the landyacht?
!/2" bright steel 1040 shafting, is not much more expensive than 12 mm black round and 3 times stronger. A trip to the local steel merchant if possible, I'd say.
