I am located in Seattle and there is little interest here as yet in land yachting but I have the perfect beach earmarked for some fun. I have searched this forum all over, I can find lots of build advise but still eager to get my hands on a set of plans for the Lefroy Mini and cannot find them available anywhere, can someone help ??

Gidday Seabrit,

follow the basic dimensions of the plans and you cant go wrong, you might need to substitute slightly different dimension steel for the chassis, depending on local supply and availability- but dont let it worry you too much- its been done before using all sorts of materials and they all seem to go fine.

one dimension that is hard to spot on the plans is the angle that the mast step leans back (10 degrees)

dont be scared to ask questions regarding wheels, axles, sails, masts- anything at all.

stephen.

Awesome, thanks guys, suprised you are being so friendly, yes I am in Seattle but I am a "Bloody Pommy" !! LOL As long as I have the basic dimensions with the basic geometry I am good to go. This will be a Dad and Daughter project with the intent of making at least two craft as equally matched as possible. I have sew canvas for my boat so I shall be making the sails from scratch too (that will be interesting) I shall keep you all posted when I have some pics to share and of course to pick your brains.

yahoooo.. little help, the main tube can be bought at most home improvement stores. its your basic wire mesh fence post. I think 8 foot is like 20 bucks...i live a bit south of you but we are starting the west coast craze....we sail at a place in nevada called misfits flats.. they shot a old marylin monroe , clark gable move the misfits there.. cool spot.any way good luck on your build

Wow guys, thanks for the welcome !!
They say there is always someone out there that can build a better mouse trap, I am not sure !!! I have been going through the plans for the Lefroy, making some sketches of my own and wondering how things can be improved to make the yacht more portable like the Blokart. Seems as though whoever came up with the Lefroy design did a damn good job, I am struggling to come up with anything original that would improve the design. The beach I am considering sailing at is only accessible by boat but is only 3 miles away from my home, its a regular kits surfing spot, a long skinny beach and gets a good blow. Portability is a high priority for me unless I am prepared to travel 4 hours to Ocean Shores which is in SW Washington.
Here are a couple of out of the box thoughts I had, what do you think ?
1) Make the backbone of the chassis out of square section tube with a similar second moment of area as the 47mm pipe. (Yes I know that the torsional characteristics will change but not sure how critical that is). With square section it would be easy to split the chassis rearwards of the mast foot in a similar way as the rear axles. This would allow the front assembly to be removed and rotated so it can lie flat and make the overall package of the disassembled kart smaller.
2) I know from (trying) to fly a cessna foot steering is a challenge !! (well, maybe just to Brits !! lol) I prefer the idea of hand steering, think it would make the kart more accessible for other people to try out !! If the steering shaft travels though the mast foot like the Blokart, this obviously means that the mast has to sit higher and the mast step made longer. If the 30 degree rake of the steering wheel was reduced it would mean that the increase in hieght of the mast foot could be reduced. Hmmmm I believe this would make the steering stiffer and give the kart more self centering. Has anybody tried different steering rake angles ??
3) I am wondering if the fiberglass seat (which looks pretty cool by the way) could be split up into 2 or 3 peices. Back and either 1 or 2 base peices depending on whether my idea of splitting up the main chassis is totally crazy or not. Of course they can be split but the problem then lies with making them rigid on the kart when reassembling. Anybody got any "nifty" ideas how to quickly and easily join and disassemble fiberglass flanges so that they are still rigid ?? I was thinking a tongue and groove type of arrangement, maybe something like "Clicos" would work if they were modified for hand insertion, they would probably be too small a diameter and cause stress fractures ??
Anyway, food for thought and some fresh ideas that someone can build on or "shoot me down in glory" lol
Glad to hear there are others on the West Coast who have been fired up by what they see on this forum.
Arnie

Arnie foot steering is easier than hand steering and also ensures you keep your feet inboard when you tip over -which you will do often - unless your'e not trying It also keeps your leg and foot muscles working and is actually allows finer control than hand steering. The first LLM had hand steering but was discarded and other refinements made until it is what it is today. I own a small car and i carry my mini in it though it takes up the passenger side. If it is only going 3 miles by sea try replacing the wheels with pontoons and towing it to the beach or not.

making the front detachable has been a great headache when designing the mini and I coulnt find the right tube to make it neat and strong so I left it.
square tube on the spine will ruin the the way thewhole chassis works and give a rather unsatisfactory performance , as will breaking the chassis behind the mast in some way.
the foot steering is really simple ,easy and effortless,I would recomend trying it first then fit a handsteering alternative later if your not convinced.

the foot steering is really simple ,easy and effortless, I would recommend trying it first then fit a hand steering alternative later if you're not convinced.

I totally agree.

There was some discussion about it on this thread, which may help you.
.
www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Land-Yacht-Sailing/General/The-pig-has-gone-south-for-summer/
Chook

Hi seabrit Welcome to the forum
A lot of people have an issue with foot steering simply because they havent tried it
The LLF mini style looks as though it would be more difficult but it really is easy to use and best of all it is simple and direct and leaves both hands free for other stuff

I agree Ron.

After many hours of sailing the shoulders and arms are pretty ordinary anyway. (Well I'm past 50 and I'm the first to admit, that I get pretty knackered anyway)
This is with using both hands on the sheet rope and a ratchet block if the wind is steady. Ratchet switched off, if the wind is finicky.

My hand steering wasn't being used after my disabled friend left and my spare yacht, was converted back to foot steering to stay.

Just for hte record i am a fan of the foot steer too. I questionede the rotating action of the mini and planned to build a peddle and linkage system. Then I tried it and was converted in about 5 minutes.

And it's much easier to build!

Which is really handy, as my feet are about the only thing I haven't yet left behind when I go sailing.

Seriously though, the standard setup works a treat and yes with one foot. In a really tight turn the top foot does most of the control work.
I folded the outside edges of the pedals back as well as the top and bottom, as our lake is quite muddy when damp and it gave my boots more grip.

After being shown how to sail (thanks landyacht ) with very little bend at the knee and my legs almost flat on the seat, it made a huge difference.
The backend didn't keep letting go at high speed, due to my over controlling the front end. (I had no idea this was causing it)
Small steering inputs at speed are controlled by just rotating your pelvis and your feet are wedged out against the sides of the seat. Just slide forward to turn.
You Kalgoorlie gang are fantastic mentors.

Hey- Arnie, since you have some time to kill before construction starts- see if you have any recycling depots, salvage yards or similar in your area and pick up all the masts and sails you can.
When I can find them at my local salvage yard, the price is usually $15 a piece.
Spare masts are good to have, and standard unmodified windsurfing sails and booms are better on "high drag" surfaces, and for beginners to learn with.

For beach sailing- try and find robust plastic wheels (no corrosion problems) that can take 20mm or 3/4" sealed bearings-which ever suits the most common sized shaft size you can purchase. Try and find plastic bushes for the steering that are a simple install.
The main chassis "spine" on mine are 62mm O.D. galvanised fence post
The "steering head" on mine is made of exhaust tube, with elcheapo plastic bushes pushed in, the steering shaft is the same size shaft I used for the axles (20mm)

As far as tooling up goes- angle grinder, hacksaw, welder (arc or mig) a drill and a couple of adjustable spanners.
That is most of what you will need.
If you go for a simple plywood body, a hand saw and jigsaw would be helpful.

Stephen.

A piece of flat floor is handy too- but the lounge room floor might not be a good idea.

Hmmmm struggling to find wheels in the US. There are alot of cheap chinese around with crap bearings but can I find anything in poly ?? No chance !!! I am reluctant to spend time and effort building something and finding it deficient because I was being too tight to spend the money on the gear that I needed and made do with crap !!! Anyone in the states found any reasonabley good wheels for reasonable money with good bearings without importing ???
Arnie

Gees! Seabrit,
Doe it need to be an Aussie that sets you straight?? Talk to Desertyank and he will tell you about azusaeng.com/ they have some nice looking Rims/Wheels I nearly imported some myself until I found www.briskites.com.au
Ron[}:)]

I tried a few times to get into blowk arts but the hand steering got in the way of getting my legs in and then i could not turn with knees in the way of hand bar as the mast support bars restricted movement of me legs!
I am a big lad
Hand steering on class 5 is too complicated