Landsailer

[Bobcat]

Anyone built a wheeled sail powered land vehicle? Photos? Drawings? Words of advice or warning?

A friend got a Blokart, a sailing go cart from NZ. I would like to put something together to tag along.

[davidagage]

I have an old El Toro rig and thought about trying o cobble up a beach sailer around it just for fun...

[Brian Palmer]

I built this when I was in 7th grade and recently saved what is left of it from my parents' house. It is missing the front wheel and the rig, but could scoot right along. You probably need something bigger, though.

Brian

http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii18/blpalmer/miscellaneous/IMGP3018.jpg

[JimConlin]

There's more here http://www.landsailing.net/

[peter radclyffe]

There's more here http://www.landsailing.net/
when i was 16 i got a trade bike, with a big basket frame at the front, removed the back wheel, reversed it, made a sq frame of bed irons, attached to the back frame, 2 moped wheels, sat with the tiller in the handlebar over my shoulder, a 19 ft dinghy rig on a tabernacle, sailed on a disused wartime airfield at mendlesham nr ipswich in suffolk, the cost , the 2 wheels, about a dollar each, the rest i had, a cheap summers fun

[mmd]

Never had the place to sail one on the east coast of NS, but over here on the SW coast, on the Bay of Fundy, there are a couple of hu-u-ge tidal beaches that would be suitable. Hmmmm; summer project....

[Lewisboats]

http://www.stevensonprojects.com/SpecPurp.html

Vector by Stevenson Projects. 2nd article down. Check it out.

[wtarzia]

Go to www.instructables.com (http://www.instructables.com) and search for "land sailer" and you will find at least two. One is a Sunfish on wheels.

A friend sent me an article about a historical one used in the 1800s out west, I think on the salt flats. It was used as transportation to a work (mining?) site and was also for some sunday "drives" for paying tourists (albeit very dusty ones). Other interesting historical landsailers bear looking at. The French experimented with some in the African deserts. An Englishman fooled around with a kite-towed one (back when the rolling moorlands were not interrupted with telegraph lines). One of the engineering journals did a techy analysis of them as alternatives for efficient desert travel; the tech analysis was very interesting, accounting for various things such as slope, friction, tire width, etc. Years ago Wooden Boat Magazine had a picture one on skis, photographed in the middle of a snowy field. It was lovely but one wondered if it worked at all except for the most favorable conditions on straight runs. Commerical ski-/board sailers are sold, but same comment applies. WB also had a humorous essay on sailing on railroad tracks, but I could never figure if it was actual or tongue-in-cheek. Land sailers are apparenetly on of the ultimate travel fantasies (based in realistic physics, any way). -- Wade

[Thorne]

http://www.woodenboat.com/forum//showthread.php?t=12020

http://www.landsail.net/