Hello to all from British Columbia Canada, I hope you and yours are all well. I am new to the forum, but have been planning a mini build for some time now. I could build a mini from the plans here on the forum as there have been great write ups and a lot of knowledge from tried and true methods. I guess I like to do things the hard way ,so out comes the drawing board and hopefully with a bit of help it might just sail. I have built a small model from the plans but it lacks some key details such as wheel camber, steering, sheet attachment ,etc. this being a reverse configuration ,there seems to little information on this style. is it do to the fact that they just don't perform well, or are they to complexed as in added weight and mechanics? any information would be greatly appreciated. planned width 1447mm, length 1371 to 1450mm, drivers weight 100kg. 31mm 4130 seamless chromemoly tubing.
If you are looking at rear steering- it has been tried, and it was found that the rear wheel loses traction easily under the side forces during turns.
The "layover" type steering in common use was a huge leap forewards in handling in comparison to other types when it was adopted.
Front steering could be built similar to a conventional racing go-kart, but is more complex and heavier.
If you wanted to go for something really different- kart style front steering + rear wheel that leans with the turn (cables from pedals to a horizontal fore/aft pivot connected to the rear wheel?) I dont know if thats been tried yet 
With the mast so far foreward, it has an effect on the sailing of a landyacht- things like "centre of effort" and a few other factors come into play- which I am not too good at explaining
Try and keep it as light as you can, it makes a big difference!
Where abouts are you planning on sailing- and what type of surface?
There will be other seabreezers along soon enough to help with tech. details.
We encourage experimentation- and it would help if you have a regular lefroy mini, or another landyacht of similar size to use as a benchmark when testing.
All the best,
stephen.
Hi Zukamini,
Welcome to the Forum.. It seems that you have read a lot of info from the forum and know that the LLF is the best beginners unit that is "Tried and true" As you say. Knowing that then go for it. Reinventing the wheel as it were is not particularly cost effective but if it is a lesson on Landyacht construction the it will probably be worth it.
I will wager London to a Brick on that you will revert to the Mini or a Class 5 in the end.
Ron
i wont try and discourage you from building this absolutely beautiful machine , but can i suggest you build a little cardboard zukamini sit it in the yacht and do some model capsizes.
you will discover that little zuki's head will be the second thing that hits the ground, straight after his little arm is dragged into the ground.
unlike a "traditional" mini ,this will happen well before the mast hits the ground
so build the model , with check shirt and lumberjack boots and lets see so photos as a next step in the build
cheers Paul
Great to see that someone else in Western Canada is going to build a LLFM. Have you got a sailing venue picked out? Might be able to get together and have a sail.
Brian
So Paul,
It looks pretty much to me that our Zukamini has built as a model??
Zuk's, Paul has a very valid point here, I didn't think of it my self, I guess I'd best go 'ave me 'ead read. Seems to me you are a pretty astute sort of chap, with the models so make a paper figure to fit this little beast and check out the senarios that paul has suggested.. We love to see new membership and really hate losing them.. Funerals aren't cheap and you live too far away for us to attend... It is for the best to bust a paper figure than bustin' yersel'..
RON
thank you guys for the replies , and yes your right about the painfull knock down. it would seem to be a very fast reaction that would be hard to avoid or control. I knew I was overlooking something, which is why I asked for the pros thoughts on this style of buggy.
some of the original frame structure could be retained with a single front wheel mounted on a fork as in a typical mini platform. mast location and cog or more correctly cr would have to be calculated but still possible.
Sorry Sabydent, did not mean to overlook your question. Cresent beach in White rock has a very long beach at low tide. it is mostly hard packed wet sand with a few streams flowing out to the sea to cool you off. quite a few kite buggies there and blowing all the time. a little more inland is the abbotsford airport, the tradex parking lot is always empty during the week.
Me Ol' Son that is what this forum is about.. We hate to discourage but in the end if a doubt is put forward it is for a very good reason.
Not being critical of you or any other Newby, It has all been discussed before one way or another and the best , I believe, has been teased out of this ball of yarn. Mayhap improvements can be gleened through experimentation but that should (Note Should) be gleened after a little experiance is had. I.E. When you are more able to understand reasons for design, the materials involved and their properties.. The original Carbon Fiber Schrodingers Cat is a point in question.
Pick your build and go for it but most members on this forum would suggest a LLF Mini and the plans are located on the sticky notes at top of Construction.
Ron
10/10 for the building of the model first
I would actually love to see a video of the yacht sailing just to see if my thoughts are right or wrong
As I drooled over the plans for the LLF mini , my mind kept going back to original concept model and it's possible conception. there would be some drawbacks to this design as Landyacht has pointed out, but when has that stopped anyone for example the first guy to strap a kite to his butt and jump off the side of a mountain . If the CG is kept low and simple roll bar protected driver from contact with ground. so I have modified a rc model for a proof of concept model that can fully tested in various wind condictions. mast angle & location, center of effort, caster/camber angles,and stability can all be experimented .
god speed.........i say go for it if it doesnt workstick the mast on the other end and sail it backwars
for that effort alone , I think the board of govenors at the Lake Lefroy International University of Landsailing with pretty much issue a degree with distinction
It was a dumb schmuck back around Da Vinci's time built a Kite (For the want of a better word) out of wood and CHICKEN Feathers and jumped off of a Castle Wall.. Much to his Chagrin He was heard to say, something like "No wonder it didn't work, Chickens can't fly far" He learned that his CofG was much lower than he would have liked[}:)]
