Absolutely love the simplicity of that arangement being a kiss man myself
but the thought of what happens when your foot slips off that very slippery looking
foot peg takes all the fun out of the idea
[we sail through water a lot]
Its not like a bike where your leg just swings back and clear
Cheers Hiko
Yep, great design from the Potty and remember this is Ireland we do more wet sailing than everyone !
Never ever had a problem with feet slipping off the foot pegs (which on these two are removable for ease of transport) and we sail through pools all the time. You are inclined to push against the pegs as against rest your feet on them.
See what I mean about water in the video - and this is summer so we even do rivers when its too dry !
By the way also note the 4 section aluminium mast (4 different diameters) and the way we also us it with a kite at times !
Front end just comes apart by opening the twizzely bit on the top. Great simple design which aint any slouch !
The main T frame is in 2 sections and comes apart under the seat . ( front half is narrower and slides into the back section and is fixed by 2 bolts - look close at the top photo- this also makes the length adjustable for different height pilots)
I have sailed a couple of yachts like that and enjoyed the experience and never had a problem with feet slipping off but my creaky left hip is telling me as I write this that there is a risk factor there that wont be tolerated
Love the design but would want straps underneath or something
Cheers Hiko
Love that beach Alan, the Potty yachts and the music track on the vid. Didn't love seeing the car doing donuts but it looks like there is lots of room for everybody there.
Is it possible you could post some detailed photos and specs of your ally masts please??
Alan , when I first started playing with minis i also built a couple of smaller yachts to the potty dimensions, with the footpegs right behind the wheel. we called these yachts "micros"
on our hard smooth clay and salt surfaces a couple of things were immediately noticed.
The micros were no slower than our early minis and a production blokart, but being so light and narrow you couldnt slide the yacht at all in order to turn at speed. this resulted in huge turns that often ended in capsize.
we all wear seatbelts because of harsh surfaces and you would inevitably end up with a leg on the dirt.worse, beginners would put a foot out and it would grip. my own yacht "chicken wing" with a 3m sail when sailed fast upwind would invert its sail and the whole yacht would lift and fly up to 5m. I thought Id invented a new sport , but after 9 successful liftoffs I crashed every landing and gave it away
we abandoned the micros as just too small and settled on our bigger minis, which have the same wheelbase as the blokart . this suited the blokart sailors in the club, who hated being passed by a tiny yacht ,which then flew away and crashed
with the longer length , particularly on clay ,you can , with practice , get away with the higher speed turns by drifting into the turn,sacrificing rubber on the way
we immediately saw the need for adjustment of the steering pedals to let the pilot be in just the right location when sailing. Ive always built my yachts with 250-300mm of movement to allow for various sized pilots, with my own leg position at the 150 mm position.
I noticed that there is now a potty with adjustable length , for similar reasons
this is how the Lake Lefroy mini steering ended up. very similarand very much inspired by the potty and ludic
One thing I especially like is the use of a thread joiner as an axle mount. Makes it simple to switch wheels, bearings, etc, and keep the aesthetics clean.
On the downside I coulndn't possible use less than 1" axles
Because I have a couple of metres of 1" steel on hand, and using that I dont have to find other sizes of RHS to build the steering on my minis.
In other words, Im lazy
No prob - will get lots of photos. I have introduced head honcho Mr Potty _ Andy Parr to the forum too.
Not bragging - but we have beaten the Blokarts and X-sails at their own game on most outings and we only have a 3.7 ish sail and now a 4.5m to choose from !
2 hour Enduro in Donegal last year -
glad to see blokarts coming out to play with other yachts
i should certainly hope a ludic would match it with a blowie
say hello to Mike Hampton for me . i havent heard from him in years,and woulf love to see what he could add to some of our debates in the construction forums,
My biggest concern is that some of your countrymen will see some of sexy "next generation " KISS designs on this forum, and feel the urge to take up the hacksaw and welder.
Off to meet Mike, Andy and Chris in Kerry later this week - Will see if I can get him to contribute. Truth , we are too lazy to try building new yachts and because you need to buy materials in bulk here it just becomes un economic !
Yes , the Blokarts and ourselves get together often - remember it is a small country - with under 5m people we cant afford not to get on !!!!
Sourcing matierials in small quantities and people having the time and ability to
tinker around has led to landyachting becoming dominated by blokarts in this country and they tend to keep themselves exclusive in this country of 4 million
They prefer one design racing which I guess is understandable when they have so many
For me though the tinkering around is a large part of the fun
Pass my regards to Mike Hampton I have got a lot of inspiration from his writings
enjoying your input also
cheers Hiko
Steering direct off the front wheel may be fine for giant guys like Andy Parr, (he obviously designed the Potty to suit his body type). I'd be lucky if my feet could reach the mast post, and being light I find I have to sit further back to get more leverage.
I do like the 6.4m circumference rule and the 400 diameter wheel max. They are easy to get, light and cheep.
Clemco
Look at the videos and you will see that there are all shapes and sizes sailing the Potty - and ages from 6 to 80 !! Andy has a 4 inches longer version for himself which he sometimes uses while mine is adjustable and will cover from 6 - 80 yrs or small to tall !
We also have a simple arrangement that attaches to the pedals and shortens the reach by a further two inches if you are someone who is tall and small enough to walk under a bus !
Try it you will be very surprised at the comfort , responsiveness and practicality of the arrangement.
Oh, its a 5.6m loop of rope -
Off to Kerry now - have fun !
Alan
Hi Alan, yes I have sailed an early Ludic which is very similar, and I found the seat as hard as a rock, felt every bump! and the direct steering bloody awkward, almost dangerous. My opinion only. I like a bit of comfort at my age. Nice simple design though.
have to agree clemco, having the feet in closer and less leg bend allows you to be alot steadier. the T frame LLM is rather comfy and the y frame variants are kind of like strapping into a Range Rover after a Landrover
the more laid flat position of our minis was a response to my ageing knees, hips,and shoulders
You should try one, Alan, unlike a Blokart , you will actually be blown away
personally detest the handsteering, but blowies are fun to race as a one design
Clemco & Landyacht
I agree miniyachts can be bumpy and not the most comfortsble ride- but great fun.I love sailing promo which is just a bigger version of what you guys are building it seems.
In Ireland and other European countries we are using miniyachts to bring family and kids into the sport without scaring them away with the science of land sailing, or the cost of getting into it .
You can buy 3 Potty for the price of 1 stainless Blokart !
We are trying to decrease the average age profile of sailors and keep it simple. Fun sailing, exploring beaches and fun racing and guess what - So far so very good , it works ! Whats your avge age profile like ?
In Australia, the old grumpies seem to stick to thier 5"s. those who have built minis , just seem to love them. The only blokarter to have gone to a mini is cisco, and I dont know of any mini sailors who have gone to a blowie.
the only minisailor I know who has raced a blowie is little old me, but then I'll sail anything
the minis and blowies are great for the kids to start on,
Our biggest problem is that clubs seem to rapidly grow and then fade , then pick up again.
with the emphasis on recycling materials for our minis,and building them ourselves, our cost is about 2.5 LLminis to one potty, maybe 3 if your a thrifty spender