Thats one great looking mini! Hope your not offended, but I like it better than the class 5 beast.

Just more than a little troubled how the heck anyones going to build anything to match your machine (it looks dang fast) in the near future

lachlan3556 said...

Just more than a little troubled how the heck anyones going to build anything to match your machine (it looks dang fast) in the near future

Just maybe there's others on the way!!!

dont forget that the yacht hasnt sailed yet
and there is a history attached to skinny 20" wheels on really light yachts( and they were big heavy 5's),
You will note that I havent gone to 20" , letting others do the experiment
. will that seat be trong enough in a spin my first one ripped in half.
I cant yet hear a fat lady singing

I guess with a racing beast if it never breaks you will always wonder if its too heavy If it breaks you at least know where its not strong enough and can strengthen that place Sure doesnt look like a dog to me
Looking forward to seeing how it goes
You are gathering up quite a fleet there Vic

Transporting is not a problem it fits inside my patrol roof rack with room for another and other stuff. It is light not stripped it weighs 24kg.
The old yacht is more for lending out to people that may like to try land sailing and hopefully join the sport.
Paul you mentioned some history with skiny wheels what was the problem
Cheers
AUS230

aus230 said...

Transporting is not a problem it fits inside my patrol roof rack with room for another and other stuff. It is light not stripped it weighs 24kg.
The old yacht is more for lending out to people that may like to try land sailing and hopefully join the sport.
Paul you mentioned some history with skiny wheels what was the problem
Cheers
AUS230

skinnies can have a tendency to react suddenly to a gust( often too suddenly)
dont worry about it , I wont

Its still got pull out axles, you jst have to pull em out
Even with a big 4x4, I can pass the body of the yacht up onto the roof rack with one hand, and Im usually too lazy to take the front wheel off. I get 3minis , lots of sails and 2 swags on top with skill. I do prefer the 2 piece seat for portability and packing, even the new 5 has a removeable back

Ah, but there we have the point that Paul Beckett portrayed to me when he evolved the Blowie.
You should not need to have a 4x4! His premise was that you could fold it up and put it in the back of your Starlet, motor home etc. One of the reasons for the lowering of the numbers of sailors with the Auckland Land Yacht club way back was that you NEEDED a 4x4 to get to the sailing venues. And who needs one for day to day running round? Owning a particular vehicle to allow for your toys is not a positive way for the masses.
Now perhaps he was wrong, BUT Clemco tells me there are likely to be about 4 or 5 Class 5's and a few less bigger yachts at the event on 90 mile beach in a month or so. How many Blowies go to their events? (Rhetorical question).

kiwi307 said... Owning a particular vehicle to allow for your toys is not a positive way for the masses.

Yet people that choose to own horses, caravans, power boats, large sailboats, race cars, and off road motor bikes seem to see no problem owning a vehicle to suit those needs.

When the "Sandpiper" land yacht was concieved the thought was that it needed to fit it into the back of a smaller hatch back car (which it did) but with the advancements in materials the Blokart just does it better....

Maybe there could be a mini class called "Shove it in the boot"

Ah the great Aussie Tank! Take this all the way I intended, ie not too seriously.
I think that the situation for many of you guys may be a bit different. The mini in all the "stuff" is build it as cheap as you can, recycle, re-use etc. The cost of running 4WD is pretty harsh over here, so most people choose to use a smaller vehicle. The 5 was originally a "car topper" for 2 door cars, and some of us (me included) grew it away from that. Having said that my 5 was carried for a long time on the roof of the TR7 in Europe!
I must have got the wrong end of the stick when I read Pauls "Mini Yacht Reasons"!

Dang!

Chalk one up for large diameter wheels too.

Clemco said...

Chalk one up for large diameter wheels too.

Just a question though!
Are the wheels 16" as measured for a bicycle or as measured for a motorcycle?
If as a bike, they are the same OD as 4.00x8 wheelbarrow!

Rims and tyres are from a 20" bmx with the spokes and hub removed and replaced with fiberglass discs, and scaff tube hub turned out to take bearings.

In the mini marathon Travis actually got away first. But I managed to overtake on the upwind leg. Paul passed me on the second leg, I thought Dam, but then realised he was not going faster but taking a better line around the markers so changed tactics a bit and over took him on the upwind leg and made sure I did not make the same mistake again. All in all I was very happy with the yacht for its first outing and it should get quicker as it gets modified/tuned.

There are a few changes I am going to make before our next encounter.
Modify the steering a little
Cut the seat and lift at the back a little for better vision
Double down haul the front of the sail
Hopefully borrow/buy a sail of Paul

going to do some mods over the next few weeks will post updates
cheers
aus230

dang! Im getting that wooped feeling again