Hiko said..
The foot of Windsurf sails are quite often cut up quite high so you dont want the tack above your mast brace or the sail will be very high
I would suggest you cut off the sail mast sleeve at the foot enough to clear the mast brace that you have and fasten the tack of the sail at the mast base

You will definitely need a mast stiffener inside the mast at the base for 800mm or so and extending above the mast brace that you have
Your standard windsurf sail should then be long enough without any more modification and use the windsurf boom as is
Standard windsurf sails need a lot of downhaul to make them set right

As long as the clew of the sail is above your head you should be fine

Chook on this forum has a good bit of experience with standard windsurf sails on landyachts perhaps you could send him a PM

OK, thanks Hiko, all of this makes sense. Seeing that it is a public beach I do want to make sure that I can see well. Maybe I can use the bamboo as the stiffener! I put all that work into taking the twigs off of it! No, I'll use real wood. Maybe I'll use the bamboo as a decoration.


I rolled down a hill on a dirt road to test my steering. With the large trail it is sensitive and floppy at low speeds but as I got up a little speed it seemed to start tracking pretty well. It turned well with no sign of slippage, and it was a fairly loose surface. Trying to stop at the bottom of the hill with my feet has me thinking about some kind braking system.

So I got the windsurf sails - a six meter and a seven. I think I may now have a reasonably decent sheeting system. I cobbled it together from existing sailing parts I had. It's a bit of a mess but it might work. It's a four x downhaul and a three x main sheet. Hopefully the four x with the thicker line will be ok. I will need to loosen the downhaul as the sail moves out to the side since the mast support members restrict the travel.

I had been thinking that I would be able to just let the sail weathervane downwind if things got hairy but it looks like with the downhaul connected it will be difficult to do so quickly.

I added about two feet to the top of the mast and will add a four foot dowel inside the bottom of the mast to stiffen it.

Here's some pics. Go ahead, laugh.








I'm going to beef up the back of the seat so the adjuster rod does not pierce my back in an accident. Wondering about some kind of flexible rod with a ring on the stern to gather the main sheet and keep it back there.


I won't be cleating off the main sheet but I installed a horn cleat just to keep it in place. May be able to use it as a friction cleat. I need a bucket or something to hold the extra mainsheet.














I think what I have is a cammed sail. The cam keeps slipping off the mast and will need some kind of modification so as not to be so troublesome.


I must say that this thing is starting to look serious. I'm a little worried about being able to stop! The beach does not give much room to turn upwind before one is into the water.

Looks like I may get 15 knot winds in a couple of days for a possible maiden of the new and improved "Noble Turkey".


If it works and does not self destruct I just may treat her to some paint!


Thanks again for all of your help. I expect I'm not done learning from y'all.

Test pilot 1 said..
According to Chook if your cams keep slipping off you need a lot more down haul. (from Chooks construction page)

I'm thinking of wire ties or a section of pvc pipe, or just remove the darn thing. Why don't they make these things with rings so they can't come off? I only have one, is that typical?

That Crockett downhaul looks like a great idea. I will do that, thanks. I have to get used to the cam. I will use more downhaul.

Glad to hear that the sail looks good. I plan on the new maiden sail tomorrow. The winds are supposed to be 15 knots gusting to 25. It's been nice knowing you guys.



I was wondering.....do you guys lift the sail and mast vertically when setting up the yacht or do you lay the yacht on it's side when inserting the mast. It would seem to me that holding the mast and sail up in strong winds would be hard to do.

Yes, I have installed a 1.3 meter long dowel in the base.

And yes, I would have figured out that way of setting up the yacht......after doing it the hard way twenty times. :)
And I did not know that the strap goes around the mast.

Thanks.

sn said..

searunner said..

I rolled down a hill on a dirt road to test my steering. Trying to stop at the bottom of the hill with my feet has me thinking about some kind braking system.

Chook, Landyacht [Paul], and a few others used their landyachts as billycarts a while back when the wind failed to arrive.

They made a you-tube vid of it - and you can see Pauls brakes in action at the bottom of the hill.

I'm not too sure where to find the vid', but someone will point you in the right direction before long.


Stephen

Well, I got it down to the beach today for the maiden number two.



And it worked!! The wind was a tease and was barely enough to get a few slow runs going one way on the beach. But it worked. The wheels floated like champs, even on the soft sand.

The steering angle needs to get more vertical for less trail. I was fighting the front tire too much.

I need to fine tune my rigging a little more. The cam continues to be a pain. I think my mast with the tape on it makes it less slippery and probably contributes to the problem. I'll figure something out. I'm actually considering using a pvc T to hold the sucker in place.


My recovery winch setup worked like a charm. It pulled it back up the bluff with no problem. That's a huge problem that has been fixed.


All in all it was a very successful mission. I learned a lot and next time it will be better.


And there was one gust that suddenly accelerated me when I was on the upper beach where the soft deep sand is. The deep sand is no longer a worry. That was a thrill. I'm pretty psyched.


I got some lame video of me fumbling around but the camera stopped before I got a good run. Not sure why. I tried editing in movie maker but that software almost made me jump out the window. Maybe if I get some patience back....

Better we just wait until I get this thing really moving.



Thanks for all the help and words of encouragement.

landyacht said..
Landyachts version.
always lay the mast pointing DOWNWIND and unroll the sail and let it lay flat on the ground so it doesn't flap. if the yacht has a drop in mast step and your rig or the wind isn't just plain silly. fit the mast to the sail then to the yacht.
i think there might be a slight point of difference here chook

Nah, that's a great way to do it as well, if like you say the wind isn't up. Good you chimed in.
Mono-film unrolls easily though.

I well remember the very first time I ever sailed at Lake Lefroy. I was really struggling in a brisk wind to get my sail onto my first yacht. "Lil Stig" wandered over on her bike and said "that's a pretty silly way to get your sail on". Jumped off her bike and showed me how. We had it fitted in a flash.

I then got out on the main lake and was fairly hooting along, only to look to the left to see "Green Arrow" overtake me at a great rate of knots with "Mid Stig" in command and she was giving me the big thumbs up. Talk about how to humble a guy.

Hey "searunner" that's great news.
I'm really pleased those wheels are doing their job. It makes so much difference to rolling resistance.
That's why Greg and I use our "Fat bike" 26"x 4" tyres on the rear of our mini's, for our soft lake. It makes it much more fun, leaves very little depressions in the wheel tracks and means we can use nearly 3 times the area we would if we were using wheelbarrow tyres. Not to mention the extra speed, stability and grip.

I had nothing to do with the downhill video. That's onboard with "landyacht".
The Kalgoorlie lads were havin' fun.
Hence the closing credits directed towards the ESCLSC. (Esperance Soft C*#k Land Sailing Club) Us Esperance lads had stayed in the local hotel, while the Kalgoorlie fellas braved the sub zero overnight temperatures out on the lake at Norseman.

Can't wait for the video mate!!!

6 sq metres of sail 15 knots gusting to 25 of wind , freezing temperatures Woo hoo hold on to your hat !
Cold air is stronger than warm This will be a real test for your yacht and your gear

It says "this video is private"

......and i really want to see it!

Oh duh, forgot to publish. I could see it on the site here but you could not.

Should work now.

The video is from a keychain camera model 808. Not the best but the thing is so small I just tape it to my helmet and I don't worry about it because it's cheap also. Maybe one day I will treat myself to a go pro. And once again the darn thing did not record as long as I wanted it to. Bloody technology.

I used an app on my phone to measure max speed. It must be wrong because it felt like I was doing like 80 MPH yet it says 24 MPH

Of course the oncoming boulders probably made it seem faster.

Onward!

Chook2 said..

l video. That's onboard with "landyacht".

The Kalgoorlie lads were havin' fun.
Hence the closing credits directed towards the ESCLSC. (Esperance Soft C*#k Land Sailing Club) Us Esperance lads had stayed in the local hotel, while the Kalgoorlie fellas braved the sub zero overnight temperatures out on the lake at Norseman.

Can't wait for the video mate!!!

that was a great night you D'esperants missed. breeze came in at 9.00pm for 1.5hrs temp was -1celcius. officially the coldest place iin WA that night. and we camped next to the BOM station. . beer from esky felt almost hot .
your yacht looks great . from the look of your beach Im personally amazed you can sail on it . it is soft steepand narrow with a crap wind direction , yet you have a built a yacht that has sailed on it . I believe that qualifies you for a degree in Landyacht construction from the Lake lefroy international uniniversity of landsailing. Pm your snail mail and we will get one prepared(seriously). very few degrees have been awarded in the last few years.
Im sure the Dean of Cams will second my nomination

Hiko said..
Searunner Great for your maiden sail! Looks like the wind was not as strong as expected
Your beach looks quite narrow but you managed to turn at the end OK
You must be encouraged by all that Well done!

Thanks Hiko.

Yeah the wind is an interesting thing isn't it? The buoy out in the sound northeast of me at the time I was sailing was reading an average of 18 knots due north. But on my north facing beach the winds were hitting obliquely from the NW so the run west back upwind was not easy, especially with a rig that was collapsing.

And the 30 meter high bluffs behind the beach must slow the wind down a little and turn it, and I noticed that in the spots where the top of the bluff was open and lower, the wind was stronger there.

But yeah, I'm encouraged, I went at least as fast as the wind. I wasn't cold at all either. Not that I remember.

The limits of my site has me thinking about making my yacht portable. If I can just remove the rear cross member the two pieces will fit into my work van. Should be doable with just a few nuts to deal with. There are many local beaches that are more wide open and have better wind.

I also have a 7 meter sail

searunner said..
Also unfortunately, and probably no surprise to anyone here but me, is that my upper mast support strut could not take the compression forces on it and it bent. I had thought that tensile forces would be the big one but I guess the upwind sailing puts a lot of force sideways and thus back along the strut. So I need something stiffer than 1/2 inch electrical conduit. I guess aluminum tubing would be good.

Way cool video!
Congratulations getting everything to work!

A larger diameter tube will be more resistant to bending.

Cheers,

Geoff S.

P.S. - You're not the only one with side-tube bending problems!

searunner said..
The video is from a keychain camera model 808. Not the best but the thing is so small I just tape it to my helmet and I don't worry about it because it's cheap also. Maybe one day I will treat myself to a go pro. And once again the darn thing did not record as long as I wanted it to. Bloody technology.

There are now a number of GoPro alternatives out there at pretty low cost.

The Xiaomi Yi is my current favorite. It's around $85 with a waterproof housing from places like GearBest:
Camera: http://www.gearbest.com/action-cameras/pp_153557.html
Housing: www.gearbest.com/action-cameras-sport-dv-accessories/pp_170859.html

The original budget action-cam was the SJ4000.
There are now a whole slew of "SJ4000" clones, copies, etc.
"SJCAM" is the brand for the original manufacturer, but many of the others are very functional.
www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1072775-REG/sj4000_sj4000_action_camera.html

Here's one on E-Bay that's probably decent:
www.ebay.com/itm/SJ4000-1-5-TFT-12-0-MP-2-3-CMOS-1080P-Full-HD-Outdoor-Video-Camera-2015pro-CC-/201264850290?hash=item2edc51e572:g:F7QAAOSwc0FUo7iE

Most of the footage in my videos (/videos) is shot with cheap cameras.
I have a few SJ4000s, two Xiaomi Yi's, and one old GoPro Hero2 (the Hero2 is still an great little camera - as evidenced by the ~$100 price for used ones on E-Bay).

Cheers,

Geoff S.