Yes bamboo could be more fun and it would be a shame to have that effort taking off the twigs wasted
Some one on this forum was making a whole yacht out of the stuff !
Not sure about the wheels though there could be an opportunity there to break new ground

I don't need to go this fast. Wow.

sn said..

searunner said..
I don't need to go this fast. Wow.

that's what you think now..

you will change pretty quick!

aint no such thing as too fast


stephen

I'm wondering if a beach stroller warning device would be a good idea. We do get zombie beach walkers sometimes. Risking my own life is one thing....

Well this is probably too good to be true but....I just bought on eBay, from a seller with no reputation, Used sails(2), boom(1) and masts(3). All have had light recreational use but are in good condition. Neil Pryde 7.0 and North Katana 6.0


for free. Plus $51 shipping.

Paid with Paypal so I should be covered but...

Am I crazy?

The seller supposedly has 4 other sets. Perhaps he is trying to establish reputation.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/181926618111?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

edit;
ebay will cover the shipping also if not received, so looks like I can't go wrong

Yeah I was thinking the same thing about the compressed gas horn. Seatbelt is on order. I have a helmet for skiing that would work.

A seven meter sail sounds scary. Maybe I'll cut off the bottom? Don't know what I'll do about the boom.

I got a learning curve here.

Thanks Geoff.

So, I took my acetylene torch and heated and bent the bike fork to fit the new wide wheels. Glad to see that it worked. And I remounted them to more of a layover type steering. I used the highly technical engineering method of "it looks about right" to determine the precise angle.

Here is the basic unfinished idea of how it is looking. Still need to cut and put it all together. I have some 1 inch diameter solid aluminum axles on the way.

The wheels use 2 to 4 pounds pressure and that's so low that a regular pressure gauge doesn't work. I need to get a special low pressure one. It remains to be seen if they withstand the forces . They are basically just tubes on rims. I hope that they stay on the rims with the side forces involved.

It does seem a little bouncy. Hopefully that will not be a problem. A windsurf mast and sail will eventually be mounted. And a seat belt.

Hiko said..
The conventional thinking on the geometry of the steering on these things is to have the line of the steering pivot meet the ground
right under the centre of the wheel It looks from the photo that yours will be in front of the wheel which is called trail
The effect of trail is the side forces when sailing will want to make the yacht turn down wind this may or may not be a problem
Maybe try it and see If it is a problem at least you will know the reason and cure
Those tyres look real floaty you should be able to skim over the top with those
Keep us posted we are keen to see how it works out

Thanks Hiko, I guess I don't fully understand this layover steering thing. I thought that it involves a shallow steering angle. But I guess it also needs a long steering fork so that the pivot is then under the front axle? Slowly it is dawning on me. Yeah, I'll see how this works, if I'm fighting it all the time I'll change it. I guess this like what they call weather or lee helm on a sailboat. A slight weather helm is preferred so that wind gusts make the boat point higher and reduce heeling.

Well Done Sport! Definitely constructed on the KISS principle Great. She may not last a long time so make it enjoyable and a great Learning experience. Keep firmly in mind as well, You have now been nipped by the LY sailing Bug, to which you will either become immune to or more likely become all but Fatally Infected.
So Go sail and get back to this lot of Hairy Salt Encrusted Maniacs.

Well guys, maybe it's a good thing that I did not have it ready to go for today. The winds on the beach were gusting to 27 knots. Just walking into it was a chore.

But much good progress has been made. The axles and wheels are installed and I like how it looks. It rolls very easily despite the rough bearings. At one point a gust caught the sail while I was on it and I suddenly was moving forward on my patio. Yahoo!! This thing wants to go!

The windsurf mast is the real deal. I wrapped it in strapping tape, mostly just to stop any fibers coming off into my hands.

The boom is now the old bamboo mast, cut down. It should be plenty strong enough. No more bending boom.

The mainsheet rigging is still a work in progress and I'm using cheap poly rope from the local home improvement store. It's pretty horrible stuff but I want to be sure about the length first before buying pricey line.


To get it back up the bluff I have a post with a boat trailer winch attached at the top of the bluff. It's public property so I can remove it when done. I buried a plastic pipe to keep the hole for the post and then just cover it when done. I have yet to test this but I don't see why it wouldn't work. It's fifty feet of winching but carrying it up is out of the question. Did it once.

So hopefully within a week I will have some video to post here of it cruising down the beach.

2 b cntd

john

I'm using cheap poly rope from the local home improvement store.I wouldnt worry about better rope then it doesnt matter ifn it gets damaged

I'd go with the windsurfer boom that way you know it will work as a unit. Keep the bamboo as a spare

Thanks for the advice guys, I'm going to get the boom and two sails. One a 6 and the other a 7. Maybe a little large? I might be trimming one or both of them down. The wind on the beach is usually over ten knots and often up to 25 - 30.

Test pilot 1 said..
you need power in soft sand but also control so start with the smaller unit. Having said that, chook a big boy uses a large windsurfer rig and having sail shape preset gives greater control. On a normal sail as you release the sheet your sail shape changes & gains power but with the windsurf rig the shape changes very little and so you can use its shape better :- control

That's interesting about the windsurfer sail/boom preset shape. Didn't know that. But wouldn't a sail with a more variable shape be better? Not that it will matter much to me.



It's starting to sink in that in a few weeks I may be hurtling down the beach at thirty miles per hour.

Its probably easiest for you to make a mast extension that pokes a fair way [a meter or so] up inside the mast.

We have to stiffen the bottom of the windsurfer masts anyway or they snap off near the bottom.

A solid length of straight grained timber, planed and sanded to fit snug inside the mast, but long enough to pass through the mast yoke and drop into the lower chassis.

Give the top 6" of the mast extension / stiffener a bit more taper to reduce the chances of snapping your mast.

If you only need 12" or so extra mast length, nick your families vacuum cleaner pipe, and bung it on top of the mast.


stephen.

sn said..
Its probably easiest for you to make a mast extension that pokes a fair way [a meter or so] up inside the mast.

We have to stiffen the bottom of the windsurfer masts anyway or they snap off near the bottom.

A solid length of straight grained timber, planed and sanded to fit snug inside the mast, but long enough to pass through the mast yoke and drop into the lower chassis.

Give the top 6" of the mast extension / stiffener a bit more taper to reduce the chances of snapping your mast.

If you only need 12" or so extra mast length, nick your families vacuum cleaner pipe, and bung it on top of the mast.


stephen.

Test pilot 1 said..
you could always lower your top wheel braces and put some gussets into the crossover of the spine and axle

Ah yes, I was also thinking that I could extend the tip, but I guess the windsurf masts are not designed to have loads put on them like that, so the beefed up bottom is probably the better way to go. I could also maybe lower that top mast brace on my yacht a little.

I've made spars in the past comprised of four quarter round moldings epoxied together. Makes for a very strong spar.

"Nick" the vacuum cleaner pipe? I love it. Here in the states to "nick" something is to give it a small wound or "In the nick of time" means just in time.

I can see it now...."No honey, I did not take the vacuum cleaner pipe.....I nicked it"

Thanks for the tips guys. The sails and boom are on the way and should be here next thursday. They were free but the shipping was around $170. Still a good deal. I have a feeling that when I see them on the yacht I am going to be scared.