Hey Carbo just relax a little...
The class 6 design rules came about approx 25 years ago to enable small yachts to have some form of specs.
And the Lefroy mini and some blokarts fit into the class 6 specs as well as Manta yachts , Free flight, Sandpipers as well as many others. Its actually interesting of how and why the Lefroy Mini came to be built.
And yes i agree that class racing is great as i have previously sailed Laser, Hobie cats and "windsurfer" sailboards i do know what class racing has to offer.
You keep making comparisons of other types of class racing well what about combined make racing like the V8 super cars (holden v ford) the F1 racing Honda v Ferrari v Brabham v others .. they seem to race ok between each other as well as motor bike racing with bikes built by various manufactures.
The olympics can accomodate Sailing many classes from sailboards, dinghy, keel boats etc
So why not landyachts?
I think most people agree on this forum that the Blokart is a well designed and produced yacht and if this type of "off the shelf" type of yacht suits you then go for it, BUT many other people by nature are builders and tinkerers and this sport offers a place for them unlike many other sports. If this is you and you want to build a landyacht why not?

holy **** guys, i thought that this "sport" of land yachting was suppose to be FUN, isn't that why you/we do it, ,you know to have fun..after all we're not playing for sheep station,,,,
bb

As you have mentioned ... Class racing has some huge benifits like the Masters Games. I acknowledge this and applauded the concept.
I still find it interesting that many blokart sailors view their "unit" as a blokart rather than a landyacht.
The way i see it is that a blokart IS a landyacht as well as many other designs are also landyachts .... but not all landyachts are blokarts.
I think it such a pitty that you dont wish to embrace the overall sport of "Landsailing" rather than just focus on such a narrow part of it.
You are right that in some clubs there are small number of yachts, the blokart has opened up the area for "off the shelf" yachts and well done to blokart.
Carbo you said
"Either i am seeing something wrong here or i'm getting told porkees but in the forseen future i can't see how the two can mix."

My comment to that is im sorry your focus is so narrow pitty!

Beachball
You are on to it

Carbo said...

Gizmo, in my work at present i am probably more relaxed than you my friend

Carbo

Don't tell me you're in IT as well?

Oh Carbo tut tut tut..... "If you owned and sailed a Blokart you would then understand why we call them a blokart and not a landyacht"
So in your own words you dont sail a "Landyacht"? and you do sail a "blokart" may i suggest another site that may be more suitable to you...
blokart.com/
and allow this forum to be used by people that do sail "Landyachts"

Carbo said...

Thanks Hills,

I am on afternoon shift at the moment so use the computor for the forum then.

Cheers
Carbo

Nice job you have there Carbo. So your employer sponsors your recreational and liesure activities during work time? Any other vacancies there?

Does your employer also offer courses in literacy and human relationship skills?

Hiko said...

Carbo
I just dont understand this preciousness about Blokarts in Australia
Now before I am misunderstood I live about 10 kms from Paul Beckett and his Blokart Heaven Track and the Blokart story is a great one
I have spoken with Paul Beckett several times he has given me advice and has even given me parts that he thought might be useful for my homebuild
He obvously does not have a problem with other landyachts
I am one of those people who like to build things for myself Paul recognises that
and in fact that is how he developed the Blokart
There is room for all of us in the world of landyachts including one design like the Blokart, Standart, Ludic etc etc
When different yachts want to race together they come under classes
In Blokarts case its a class 6 just like the lefroy mini

Hear Hear Hiko.

oh i won't "drop my bundle" don't worry about that, i'm njust not going to get into arguing the virtures of one sort of "yacht "over another, like i havre said all along in here for the fun aspect of it, not to see who has the biggest or the best, i'll leave that sort of rubbish upto others,

bb

Carbo,

As many of those on this forum know, I am a big fan of the blokart and for me, one design sailing is what I like and I have absolutely no interest whatsoever in building a landyacht myself. That said, a blokart is a landyact in the same way a Hobie cat is a 'water' yacht, and we are all part of the one family. A bit of friendly rivaly is fine, but the 'us versus them' crap merely hurts both sides. And no Carbo, I'm not having a go at you alone as there has been a lot flying back over the fence in our direction.

Blokarts have their own rules, but most of them relate to controlling the equipment side needed to maintain the integrity of the one design concept. The sailing rules component is very similar to the sailing rules for other landyachts and even conventional water craft as well. The small differences simply take into account our tendency to sail in high density races over very short courses.

I started the ABA because I felt that blokarters needed a national body. Many blokart clubs were facing similar problems and by banding together, I hope we can combine our strengths, help each other, and lift the sport to the next level. We could have come under ALSA or at least linked up with them if they had gotten their act together, but that was not to be.

Regards,
Brian Campbell

You're right there guys. I am having sensations of deja vue here. A while back I think many blokarters got the idea that ALSA was truly representative of the wider land sailing community and was very anti blokart. (eg The Lake Gillies Fiasco)

The latter idea might be true but you will have a hard time convincing me of the former.

So blokart people probably thought land yachting people had a low opinion of blokarts. Nothing could be further from the truth as exampled by the many positive comments about blokarts on this forum.

The "One Design" concept works extremely well in the water sailing world where you have National One Design Associations within the Australian Yachting Federation. There is no reason, except for bigotry, that the concept wouldn't work in the land sailing world.

The Sand Gropers appear to have the act together very well with an as eclectic group of land sailers and sailors as could be hoped for. Blokarts and LL Minis are racing together and their, for want of a better expression, "home built jobbys" are mind boggling to say the least.

If ALSA is truly in their garage now, let's hope they get the mechanic under it and fix it up.

No doubt I will be in for the usual volley of threatening phone calls or emails for daring to mention ALSA again. Oh well, c'est la vie. Cheers Cisco

oh that's ok, these things happen, one thing i have picked up on though with this blokart v landyacht debate. i am assumingb that most of you either have a blokart or if you swing the other way a land yacht, i have looked around at blokarts and with someone like me whose just getting into the sport, well i'm soory but i have a family and i just don't happen to have a lazy 4 or 5 grand laying around to spend on a kart, however i can afford to build an entry level yacht just to get me started, so i can't see what all the fuss is about, ok so there are blokart people and there are land yacht people, but arn't we all just out there to have a bit of fun and maybe the odd race or 2 if we want, but in the main as long as we have the wind and a place to sail, what ever it is we choose to sail, to me that's the main thing, or at least that's what i think anyway, for what it's worth....
bb

beachball57 said...

oh that's ok, these things happen, one thing i have picked up on though with this blokart v landyacht debate. i am assumingb that most of you either have a blokart or if you swing the other way a land yacht, i have looked around at blokarts and with someone like me whose just getting into the sport, well i'm soory but i have a family and i just don't happen to have a lazy 4 or 5 grand laying around to spend on a kart, however i can afford to build an entry level yacht just to get me started, so i can't see what all the fuss is about, ok so there are blokart people and there are land yacht people, but arn't we all just out there to have a bit of fun and maybe the odd race or 2 if we want, but in the main as long as we have the wind and a place to sail, what ever it is we choose to sail, to me that's the main thing, or at least that's what i think anyway, for what it's worth....
bb

I know how you feel with the $ thing.
I migt be the odd one out her as I love designing and building landyachts and have done for 30 years, yet I just returned from racing BLOKARTS in Yeppoon. The Lefroy mini has been my effort to give those in the lesser financial group an opportunity to enjoy the thrill of sailing a fast small landyacht . at the same time The design criteria Ive adopted have been to allow and encourage variety and experimentation.
Back in the 1980s one design construction was encouraged, and I was there encouraging it, but as a result , here in Australia landsailing stagnated, key designers went away to get on with here lives and a massive void occured.. Really only kept alive by the Sangropers LYC and the Adelaide LYC .The introduction of BLOKARTS about 5 years ago has led to a massive rebirth in landsailing in Australia, and I hope that the efforts we are making in Seabreeze will allow the less financially able ( like myself) to enjoy the fruits of that resurgence.
Having just returned from my first BLOKART event , I can only say that I was totally impressed by every aspect of the event particularly the clear definition given in the racing and construction rules.
My experience up until Yeppoon was that the viability of a BLOKART club was tied into the efforts of an individual sales rep, but i am relieved to see that the sport and the clubs have now grown beyond that critical phase and a new and exciting era of growth and properity is ahead for them
Will I become a BLOKARTER and forsake all vows and links to my previous life as a landyachter. NO of course not.
I do hope that when you do build , the construction advice we give helps you , as a novice , get the most from your new machine and that you enjoy the process of building as well as the result. what ever you do , dont stop asking questions, as most of the design mistakes have already been made by the good folk who read and contribute to these posts

G'day stranger good to see ya round.
Any chance of a race in the near future, you always were a slippery tricker to catch on a beach.
, busy weekend , one day working on the new 5, and Test Pilot 1's mini then off to the lake for 2 days with the kids. its just rained, so the salt is smooth again