hiya all,
i love to sail, but lately have really been looking into the land sailers.
so heres the first dumb question:
years ago i saw a pic of a land sailer built in the configuration of a small sailing dingy. two leading wheels, a trailing wheel- with tiller, and sail positioned accordingly- and it had a bigger platform that allowed more movement- hiking out etc.
so what are the pros and cons of the designs compared- obviously the ones used today are better performers- just trying to get my head around the land sailing principles from a water boys perspective.
thanks all!!
Welcome to the forum. Nice to see another Canadian. Where are you in the country?
I suggest you start with a lake lefroy mini. It will be exactly what you need, and if you follow the plans, it is pretty straigt forward to build. The build is fun and you can be as creative as you want in making the seat.
Brian
queen charlotte islands, off the coast of bc- miles of long, flat sandy beaches- really keen to get into this!!!
any designs that allow for dual seating- that i can take the young 'uns and to teach them.
Sounds like you need one of these. Unfortunately the manufacture is not now in business.
Well FUJIMO,
Sounds like you caught the Bug. The Mini that Brian is expounding would be the way to go just do like he says and get realy creative with the seat and you can do a dual job.
One of our boys over here has built a normal seat that he can sail by himself or Clip a Passenger seat to.
Oh! By-the-way!!! There are no such things as stupid questions! Just questions asked through a lack of knowledge. Just read through the subjects that are sticky notes @ the top of the construction page or ask. We do our damnedest to promote the sport.
The Mini would be the wisest choice for a beginner builder/Sailor, what is more if you decide you don't like the sport it won't have cost you a lot..
Ron
well the wind always seems to blow here- but once i start trying to sail then we seem to encounter the quiet days.
i will look through the records and see- usually westers and nor westers in summer/ fall- and south easters in the winter. and everything else in between every other day!!!!
will post some photies of the main beach here and distances, as soon as i get a chance.
so the next questions- i am a fairly competent welder/fabricator. so what wheels, and where to find em. and what type and size of sail- can i get a sail off one of the auction sites or the for sale sites, and if so what should i be looking for- i weigh about 80 kg,s- of pure sinew and muscle!!!
. been perusing the plans and build alongs- this looks like fun!!
thanks all
This diagram might explain more for you.... It is often thought by water sailors that you need to lean out like a on a dinghy but a with a land yacht the yacht is normally setup so the force generated by the rig gives forward motion rather than a side ways tipping motion, and the faster you go the less tipping motion there is.
if you look about online and in your available Hardware Stores you may well find something suitable. However the below address will take you to a manufacturer of some very nice wheels.
I bought my wheels at Princess Auto. I got the ones for 3/4 inch axle. They are about $40 each.
Good Morning Fuji San
Yes a Std Windsurfer Sail will do nicely to begin with A Double Bed Sheet would work too.... My point being that a Windsurfer Sail is designed for power to overcome the Drag of water on the Board. If you are running on Grass, Soft Sand, uneven ground etc. You will need power to get and keep you moving, however if the surface is Tarmac, Hard Sand, Salt or Clay Pan then the same sail will restrict your top speed, therefore the Flatter the sail the less wind resistance and the greater the speed you can attain. Look carefully at the sails used on racing Land yachts and you should notice that their sails are fairly flat though any shape they gain comes from the use of tapered Battens. Those sails do not have a great deal of low down power but gain it with speed as the Apparent Wind pressure builds. Believe me this can be felt as you get into the higher speed bracket.
So start out with the standard Sail (It can be modified later on) and as you gain in experience you should then consider either having a WS Sail converted or having a New Sail purpose built. Me I can't afford the later but the money I have spent on conversion could well have payed for a new sail
Ron
Go for it and you WILL HAVE A LOT OF FUN!!
so i have gone out and bought two sets of wind surfer sails, masts and booms off of a "for sale" site.. one set cost $15. and the other with a spare larger sail cost $75- gonna order up one set of wheels from princess auto monday- and try them out- will start the build next week i geuss. want to build one first with the plans from here- then build a second one for my daughter afterwards- iron out the bugs with the first one!
then as nikrum said when i have a better handle on all this then build some flatter sails.
would anybody out there have some plans/dimensions for sails.
had a clothing manufacturing company for 20 odd years so still have the skills and machinery to loft/pattern cut and sew. but one step at a time first!!!
what do the more advanced sails use for masts- and where would they be obtained from.
man-- i cant wait to get started!!!!
what type of bearings should i put in the wheels- just std roller ball bearings from the auto spares shop?- sealed or un sealed?
so many questions--- so little time!!!
standard windsurfer masts are what we use, with a few minor modifications,
-the base of the sail needs stiffening to prevent snapping, and usually the mast needs to be a little longer.
-a timber stiffener is fitted up inside the base of the mast for about 1 metre, but long enough so it sticks out the base of the mast for about 200mm or 300mm to gain some extra height.
The stiffener is easy to make if you have access to a wood lathe or plane and belt sander.
-You can add more length to the top of the mast by jamming a vacuum cleaner pipe on the top. (cheap and effective)
Sealed roller bearings are best on most surfaces, if you are getting real seriously into high performance and reducing drag, you can rip out the seals- but the bearings tend to become disposable.
make a habit of regularly cruising past recycling depots and yard sales or similar, and pick up any cheap (or free) masts, sails and booms you can. Even damaged sails and snapped masts are good for supplying parts and materials.
stephen
Fujimo,
This is a re-cut of an 11mtr sail it is about 6mtrs now and quite fast, scares the Bejesus out of me at times and I still haven't cracked the 80kmh mark yet.
I have no experience in Sail Making and followed Landyachts/Pauls plans and guidance with a little fine tuning with my Sail Maker.
If I can do it a bloke like yourself with experience in the Rag Trade , it should be a Doddle.
Ron
why thank ya'all!!
gonna just get the first one built, and then advance along as i learn- i do sail- on the water that is- but am fast realising that this is a bit different ,yet the same!?!
i will build my first seats out of wood- until i find what i like- then build a plug, mould and do some seats of my oiwn- really want to build a double- to help teach the kids. we have an amazing beach here hard packed sand- about 400m wide and 20 km long.
and these will be the first landyachts on the island- so i am sure i will get many interrested kids wanting to have a go- then i can get the dads building - then it wil be a go- but i gotta get going first!!
see 90% of you blokes are aussies- real popular sport there hey?i am originally a safa!- you know the rugby heroes just across the water from you guys and that other small "australian island" just south of you fella's- wassit called again- something new- something old
jus a pullin' yer tails!!
its kinda hard to talk rugga here- not that i was a big rugby player- just that it was so ingrained in our culture-
oh well back to the wind stuff
thanks for all the help thus far
will keep you all posted with photos and questions as soon as i get started
thanks
wayne
Well with a first name like you have ya cant go far wrong!
Us Waynes have gotta stick together.('specially against Nicky Poos)[}:)]
RIGHT! You WA Rotter!
Just for the record I am a Wayne to not a Wain(Old English for Cart as in Wainwright/Cartwright) Also for the records. If one looks at the Stat's you will find that the name Wayne features greatly in the Countries Prison System[}:)]. Thankfully My Name features Ronald
prior to the Wayne
..
Now for Land Yachting.
Fujimo. You have it right only Land Yachting is one hell of a lot faster than Sailing on water. Reacting correctly is the way to handle it.? Thinking in High Winds? There is no time for that . I think you will find that Kids will learn a sight faster than you can teach them so just get them out in lighter conditions cos if they have any sailing experience they will just get in and go for it. One thing they have to understand is don't go where you can't sail back from, a long walk pushing your LY isn't a lot of fun
.
Ron
Obviously your'e our token Penal Wayne cos after all Tasmania was the Penal isle
I bought the wheels from Princess that have the grease nipple and the 3/4 inch axle. I'm not on the ocean, so I dont know how they will stand up with the salt, but you can change the bearings if they screw up. Plus they are cheap.
Brian
thanks for that- have just ordered three- 11' diam,RED ones too!! - they oughtta be fast.
Guys
You have to remember that sailing the Beach + Flying Sand and water + Rust "Even the accidental attempt to float your land yacht" I have managed about 18 months out of my first set of bearings, just fitting a new set today. From my experience I would suggest that fully sealed bearings will do the job and any external protection you can fabricate will help. Anyway $30 for a year plus operation is fairly cheap. Dang! After all you don't have to pay for the wind.
"Shhhhhhh! Best keep that quiet cos the Gov't will find a way to Tax us..
Ron
PS. I use a product called INOX, in a pressure pack this stuff costs around $14 (here) but is great for flushing and lubricating bearing.
INOX is the ducks guts, I used to work at a large beach side hotel in Perth W.A.
We had a real problem with corrosion in our air handling systems caused by a combination of moist salty air and dissimmilar metals.
The air dampers and automatic louvres would continually corrode and sieze up.
After much testing and trials of various brands and types of lubricants of the WD40, CRC, and horribly expensive specialty formulations, we settled on INOX as best (most effective- not cheapest),
The next best as a preservative for preventing corrosion was WD40, the fish oil in the stuff gives a good anti-rust coating- but it didnt prevent siezing as it gummed up the works as it dried out, and airborne sand and grit turned it into grinding paste.
Regular flushing (a quick squirt of INOX) worked wonders, blew any recently accumulated grit away and left everything super slick and clean for another month.
stephen.
Well Cisco,
Ther in lies a good reason for me not to use Lanox.. Sheep Fat.
Anything to do with Sheep is not for me.. I reckon if the lot were driven off Sydney Heads I would cheer.. As you can gather I do not like sheep.
Ron
oops!!
being a metric fella sometimes gets the better of me. -well spotted-11"!!!
11' might be a bit tough to get through me post slot!
