Aw Paul, you have changed your colours. Ha-ha.
Geez "everyone" pulled the pi#@ out me and said it wouldn't work, when I turned up with an uncut 6.9 mtr sail on my mini.
It's great, but I'm a large fella that can keep the front wheel down.
Now your saying 10 mtrs and I've only got a 9.2 mtr one!!!!!
Really looking forward to the end of the month with you guys.
Now got to get back to working on my pulse jet. I'm just mounting it up.[}:)]
Well not befor Time either Chook. I was beginning to think that thing was an Urban Myth Shoot still time for that an all.[}:)]
Ron
hey Vic,
How does this beast get on with rigging from the back of the seat? I've been thinking of something similar but am a bit worried about the additional stress put onto the seat.
Started to lay up a couple more 26" x 95mm wheels today. Thought I would try polyester resin this time. Hate the stuff but will persevere. Probably OK when the weather gets warmer, but on this occasion I had to fire up the shed wood heater to get it to go off. I want to have 3 sets at Lefroy to test different combinations.
95mm wide fitted with black floyd 3.8"
95mm wide fitted with maxxis hookworms 2.5mm
50mm wide fitted with maxxis hookworms 2.5mm, also have a set of 39mm wide fitted with kendra tires
The Lefroy weekend is over. Had a chance to find out how the changes that I made over the last few months worked out.
1.Moving the mast post back to 1350mm from center of back axle.
The yacht felt a lot more balanced and was not pushing the front around. Excellent change.(thanks Patrick)
2. Fitting a mountain bike shock to the front of the mast post.
I am glad I tried this as the yacht felt very smooth and no vibrations were felt from the front wheel, The front wheel did not have side slippage in fast tight turns.
3. Out haul adjuster.
This worked great.
4. Different size wheels and tires.
I did not find any advantage in using wider tires at Lefroy, The standard 50mm wide rims that I first made fitted with maxxis hookworms are what I will be using there in future.
6. Not using a rowlock(cut it off at Lefroy)
Found an advantage doing this when the wind was light. Did not like it when the wind was up. I will be fitting it again.
7. The 4.5m airtrack sail was excellent in strong winds.
8. The changes I made to the mini yacht
Clems steering was great(thanks Clem) and enclosing the front worked out great,I can not believe how good this little yacht felt and handled
The only change I will make now to the mini is to shave the rear tires.
Cheers
AUS230
Hi John,
Most of your questions depend on other parameters.. For instance the Sheet position, I set Occum's Razor up with a Mid Sheet set up but one look at the curve under pressure and Paul/Landyacht told me I should mount it to the rear of the seat. My point is that a lot of the Lay Out is a mater of "Horses for Courses" i.e. If you are building a YOT style craft with a Boom that the end of is in your face you are going to look terrible silly with the Sheet dragging around your ears. All things being equal, if you are a new builder, I strongly suggest you build according to plans and again a first build probably should be a LLF and stick to the suggested guide lines. You can't go wrong and if in doubt ask. (There are no such things as silly questions, just questions that will be answered satisfactorily.
Now don't just stand there Lad. "Do It"
Ron
I'm toying with the idea of building a mini 5.6. The boat in the picture is very cool (AUS 230). I have a few questions if anyone wishes to chime in.
1) I was wondering what ratio of length to width is best for wheel base?
2) How to you know where to place the rig for and aft.
3) Is sheeting behind the seat superior than in front?
4) I weigh about 75 kg what size sail would be needed in 5 to 15 mph winds? 15 and above?
5)Mast ht?
6) How is the sail downhauled on the AUS 230?
Thanks
John
Hi John,
AUS230 is built to the same specs as the Lefroy mini. As Ron says that is probably the best option if you have not had a lot of building experience.(the Lefroy sails real nice)
But to answer your Questions.
Wheel base
Fits the 5.6m rope rule(same as the Lefroy mini)
Mast height.
Depends on sail, 4.5 mt sail would be about right for your weight.
Down haul
aus230 has double down haul at the back and triple at the front.(Lefroy mini has double at front and back)
Sheeting
I prefer center sheeting but the mini is smaller than the class5 so I had to go front and back on the mini it works well.
As I built the mini for racing there are a few variations on the LFM
AUS230 has adjustable mast rake for and aft.
It is a y frame mini.
It has Clemco's steering (push not rotating) so that I could reduce the frontal area.
Cheers
aus230
Where could I find the spec for the Lefroy Mini?
At the top of the construction page.
www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Land-Yacht-Sailing/Construction/Build-a-Landyacht-Lake-Lefroy-Mini-Yacht/
most people had trouble finding the mast angle........It leans back at 10 degrees from vertical
stick to the plans as close as you can and you will be on a winner!
I moved my mast post back 200mm so that it was 1350m from centre of the back axle, it was a huge improvement in controll.
I could not get over how high Traves yacht went in a tack, I tried to match it but failed miserably. Trave had it set up perficatly for the event. I was realy happy that he won the marathon. Well done Trav.
Cheers
Vic