I was reading the mini article in
http://www.bfslyc.org.uk/landsailor/Microsoft%20Word%20-%20Edition%2066%20Winter%202013%20v2.pdf
It said pg 6 that the winning mini was modified to be shorter but 180cm wide like the Aitracks. What kind of wheel base for and aft would a yacht this wide have to keep it in line with the 5.6 rule? Seems really wide.

Come on mate. Basic trigonometry here.

It is an isosceles triangle. Sum of sides = 5.6m - base 1.8m = 3.8m divide by 2 = 1.9m being the length of the other two sides.

An isosceles triangle is made up of two equal right angled triangles.

Pythagoras' rule "The square of the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides."

Therefore square of the hypotenuse = 1.9 x 1.9 = 3.61 m2. Square of the base = .9 x .9 = 0.81m2.

Square of hypotenuse minus square of base = square of perpendicular height = 3.61 - 0.81 = 2.8 m2.

Square root of 2.8m2 = 1.67332005...... call it 1.67m.

So to allow for rope thickness of 5.6m loop rule and ease of measurement let's call it 1.65m.

A yacht with a 1.65m length and a 1.8m width would tend to be stable with tipping moment but less stable directionally or at least very twitchy.

Worth doing the experiment but in the end with the minis being what they are, I think pilot skill will be the determiner.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all.

I have just read the article and noticed it said the winning yacht is a Yorkersport.

This is the web site and the photo of their mini yacht seems to reflect some of the experimenting happening here in Aus.

www.yorkersport.com/3.html

Also at the end of the article it mentions a 6 hour race with a Le Mans type start with class 3 yachts and co pilots.

Sort of a Bathurst 1000 of land sailing.

Thanks Cisco. I was wondering if the mini's are measured while the pilot is in it like Fisly Class 3 boats are. I only ask because I can bottom my axle out if I jump on it hard enough. The more it flex's the more the rear wheels spread at the ground.

If your building a yacht that tight to the specs you are getting way too serious !!!!..... Have a read up of why the class was created.

Why not build a yacht that will easily fit into the specs no matter what way they measure it and then allow a few mm error in the 5.6m loop.
The 5.6m measurement was a 'generic' measurement that encompassed many yacht designs.



Mini Class....
The reason for Mini Class is the perfect introduction to land sailing, where as Class 5 is regarded as the "International Race Class''
Mini Yachts are a class to encourage newcomers to the sport and ideal for women and children.
The yacht that is simple to build with no restrictions on construction materials or methods, looks good and can be sailed in shopping centre car parks with lots of public exposure which in turn feeds the Class 5 with competitive sailors.

If your wanting to increase the stability of a yacht it's often better to increase the length rather than the width.
With the 5.6m rule you will need to adjust the width to get the yacht longer.