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Hi cisco ... WELL WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO START !!!!!!
BUT Im not going to give an exact answer as there are a lot of variations that suit your sailing locations.

My first aim is to make people "think" as it will make you a much better yacht builder and sailor if you know how things work.

If your into physics and HEAVY reading ( it makes war and peace look like an easy read) check this book "ISBN 0396077390" ( google the number for book details)
its NOT a cheap book so ask the library ..
(this was the book i used lots in the yacht " WILDFIRE --- Designed by computer" & the "Sandpiper" class 6 commonly known as plastic ducks!!! by some)

Well cisco you first need to think about where you sail is the surface hard, med, or soft, sealed, grass, sand, salt, clay pans etc?
and then is it rough, bumpy, or smooth, loose surface stones etc?

Do you want a smooth ride or can you put up with the bumps?

do you need good steering or GREAT steering? ie.for carparks

is the wind nomally light, med ,strong, or lots more?

is the wind clean or disturbed ?

are you after speed or power? (eg tractors have power with lots of grunt, gocarts have speed but not much grunt)

do you want high performance or a pleasant yacht for the wife and kids?

That will do for the moment just to get you thinking ..... every ones ideas WILL be different so dont worry if yours are not the same as others.

Cheers Brian

Crikey Brian dont go telling the beginners to much. I had this hope that they would slowly learn over the years so I could keep looking like an expert!

Well cisco.... as you already have an existing yacht most of the variables you could change are limited...
it comes down to

1. whats making you NOT GO
and
2. what makes you GO

Dealing with the first one first ....How much force does it take to move your yacht?
Get a fishermans spring scale and pull the yacht on the surface you sail on or similar (with a pilot in it...) and see what it takes to move it in "Kgs" [ you dont need the rig to do this]

Tyre pressure ... increase / decrease "then measure again"
Bearings ....old vs new , oil vs grease, side seals vs no seals "then measure again"
Wheel Balance ....are your wheels balanced? .....have you had an unbalanced wheel on your car at 60kmph?
Tyres ....are they light or heavy that might take a lot of effort to get spinning? ... do you run 4 or 6 ply tyres when a 2 ply tyre is lighter and still do the job?

this will keep your thoughts going for an hour or so ...more later

Brian

gizmo1160 said...
If your into physics and HEAVY reading ( it makes war and peace look like an easy read) check this book "ISBN 0396077390" ( google the number for book details)
its NOT a cheap book so ask the library ..
(this was the book i used lots in the yacht " WILDFIRE --- Designed by computer" & the "Sandpiper" class 6 commonly known as plastic ducks!!! by some)

The book:- Aero-Hydrodynamics of Sailing - Czestaw A. Marchjaw - about $90.

If the library has I will peruse it. As far as reading goes, I prefer "The Adventures of Capin' Hornblower". Stirs the emotions more.

The author's name reminds me of the other Polish guy who went to the optometrist.

The optometrist said "Read that chart on the wall."

The Polish guy said "Read it? I know the guy."

You say this was the book you used lots in the yacht "WILDFIRE --- designed by computer".

Are we talking about a "Windrush Wildfire" here? The one I had, called "Pancho", would not heave to by lashing the helm to windward. I believe this was because the mast was so far forward, forward of the centre board actually. It had to be to allow for that huge cockpit that was the envy of most 40 footers.

Speaking of envy, "ENVY II" was the name of the Doug Peterson 42 that I had prior to "Pancho". She was almost the opposite with the mast directly above the forefoot of the keel. With her, one could lash the helm to windward, go below for a comfortable and liesurely lunch, and upon returning to topsides find that a mile had been made to windward, or two if lunch included a sexual dessert.

Prior to "ENVY II" was "Kahlua", a Spencer Adrian and prior to that little gem, a hot rod called "Roulette" being a Spencer Javelin.

Currently have a Van De Stadt 34 (steel, masthead rig), renamed by me to "CISCO" and a Tasar called "Blue Wren" neither of which have been in the water since I have owned them. Will happen this year.

Also have two blokarts and a 3.1m Zodiac with 15 hp Mariner used for, among other things, transporting aforementioned blokarts 100m across the Elliot River to Dr. May's Island for awsome sand sailing sessions. Well that's my sailing resume I guess.

What do I want in my new land yacht??

Something akin to a Windrush WILDFIRE, which I believe was at least ten years ahead of it's contemporaries and is still more than relevant today.
1. Light and easy to transport.
2. Adequate comfort but not overdone.
3. When depowered, useable by anyone.
4. Can handle the rough stuff but you need to be game and a little athletic.
5. Real slippery. When the wind gets up, just goes faster and faster.
6. When conditions are ideal, leaves the rest of the field for dead.

Any machine like this will need to be fine tuned, balanced and all running gear regularly maintained.

As far as what kind of surface I will be sailing on and what kind of wind it will be in, I cannot say because as I don't have ideal conditions locally, I move around a lot.

Being an opportunist, if it looks like I can get a ride, I'll take the punt. I sail grass, rough and smooth, hard dirt with fine gravel, beach sand of many varieties, road seal and of course my favourite, hot mix bitumen.

Unfortunately I am not wealthy enough to own a 200 acre square block of land laser leveled and sealed on the ocean front or anywhere else, so I just take what I can get and what I do get is good!!

Anyway that's enough for now. If the conscious mind sets the task, the subconscious will always come up with the solution. Just make sure you set the right task.

Thanks Brian, looking forward to more, Cheers, Cisco.

Psst...

Class 6 R&D day at Baldivis today, all welcome to come for a sail.
See the events section

i have posted a reply to the previous item in the section " Technical Tips".......

Yes we haven't got to sails yet ( get to that later).. im still working on whats making you NOT GO......

Brian

I have just added some pics in the photo section of the "Sandpiper" Landyacht Class 6 built in 1984 .......
Some sailed with a self tacking jib, the extra sail at the front acted like a turbo charger ... the down side... very hard to tack on a soft surface.....

cisco said...

Of particular interest is Paul Day's comment (correct me if I have it wrong Paul), ie blokart have got it just about right with length, breadth and mast position but if you move the weight aft some you will go faster.

.

Mainly downwind. in a blowie you sit comfortablyupright and cant go back, hence a tendency to pitchpole in a good wind . this is counteracted by a range of sails that go as low as 2m.
I find that weight forward is good upwind to counteract the front wheel skating off downwind. with the modern lay over steering you can lay the front wheel to windward to counteract this to an extent.
Think about the leap in cl5 speeds and handling when we stopped laying out to the side and designed a long skinny box sticking way out the back of the yacht.
I recall your computer managed to design almost the same idea as Bill Finch and his PHASE 5 idea.

So will we see you back out at Pt Gawler?

EDIT: Wow, that was our 1000th post in this section!!

No, not that I know of. I think most are getting ready to go to Lake Gilles and I'm on standby for my work until after Easter. Should be some there on the 5th & 6th of April though.

bazl said...

Doing our best to send you some cool from this nick of the woods..

Thanks Bazl, but I think Landyacht must be blocking it at Kalgoorlie coz it ain't getting through!

Are there any class 6 or Blokarts sailing in Adelaide?
And do they sail with the Adelaide land yacht club?

gizmo1160 said...

Are there any class 6 or Blokarts sailing in Adelaide?
And do they sail with the Adelaide land yacht club?

Bill Finch has a realy fast Lefroy Mini which he sailed at Gillies. He could keep up with fully blinged out Blokarts in most winds. He also has that core tube you were asking about.

I received an email from DR a few months back saying your specs are still current, but that was before Dave Webster posted those other specs. From speaking to you and the guys at Pt Gawler I assume Dave Webster's were never officially adopted, if so yours would be it.

Paul has taken his new LL Minis out for their first test run today. We have a few club members going out to Lefroy today so Val is organising some informal racing. Come out and join in the fun if you are free.