Wind Speed

Thats got to be the most picturistic land sailing location I have ever seen.......

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BobMc said..

New to the forum and to the sport. I just finished my first LLf Mini build and have been awaiting some wind here in Homer Alaska in order to try it out.

I did take it out in about a 5 mph wind today on asphalt with no real result.

I was curious as to what kind of wind speed I should expect to be able to sail in.

I am using about a 4 meter sail (unsure about that, maybe a bit smaller), I weigh about 86 Kg. and I will be sailing on sand and asphalt.

I appreciate any feedback,

5mph should work if you are reaching,and slightly upwind. downwind will be a struggle. meanwhile ,have a look at just how easily your wheels roll.
we use precision ball bearing wilth light seals. a bit of spray or light oil over the seals to loosen them up. tyres aught to to be ribbed type, but more importantly light weightas possible. great heavy 6 ply tyres that can be used on the road are gonna stop you dead
I left your pic in my reply cas its just AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm gob smacked by that back drop!!!!!! Stunning..................

An old trick that was taught to me, by a fellow radio controlled glider pilot was.
For comparison of wind speed "square it" to get power ratio.
eg. 6 knots x 6 =36
8 knots x 8 = 64
so, 6 knots, is half as power full as 8 knots.

I use this simple math, all the time when kite buggying.
I select the correct size traction kite, by multiplying the "actual wind speed" to see what m2 I'll be using.

I weigh too much and need lots of m2 to get moving. On hard salt yachting, nothing happens before 7knots for me. Even with a 6.9m2 sail.

This spot is about 5 kilometers from my house. We live on the kachemak bay, lots of beach at low tide. The sand varries in hardness quite a bit from place to place though.

I did not take any pics of the build. Most of the frame is made from an old weight bench. I used a well seasoned spruce tree (as we have an abundance here) for the mast and boom, the sail is made from tyvek and fashioned in the radial style as explained on this site. I purchased two of the wheels from Home depot (wheelbarrow) and the front is a scavenged wheelbarrow tire.

With wheels, paint (John Deere), fence post for mast step and pulleys the total cost so far is just under $150.

The tyvek was given to me. I would like to find some more as the sail making aspect is very interesting to me. My battens are made from Douglas Fir (still experimenting with stiffness and taper).

Still need to add something under the foot pedals to keep my feet from hitting the ground in case they slip off and also need to istall a seatbelt. I will be checking the transfer station salvage pile for old car seat belts. I will post some pics of any and all upgrades to the mini.

to keep your feet from slipping off you foot pegs, use heel hangers, it is just a loop from your foot pegs around your heels back up to the peg. run the loops out the top and down around your heels back on the top, by having the loops off the top the rope will hold forward so it easier to drop your heels in. I run the rope though soft vinel tubing which really helps to hold the hangers forward. Just the rope goes though the pegs the vinel tubing lays on the radius of the foot peg../Burt