Ummm...are you sure you want to do this marcusismyid? A noble ideas for sure but I can't help thinking you may just be putting them at more risk.

I had a lot of experience with landsailers many years ago and I can tell you I was lucky to live through it. Even on a nice flat firm beach they can quickly go 3 times the wind speed and the sand seems significantly firmer than the water when you lose it! Carparks and roadways are unthinkable for me anyhow. Maybe you could invent a method of attaching brakes. That would be a great thing.

I have a couple of 'OLD' windsurfers and rigs laying around. Might be safer?

hi marcus, can we presume that when you say "landsailers" you mean the stand-up variety, as opposed to the (safer) 3 wheel sit-down type?

the stand-ups certainly do have the potential for damage (I worked in a watersport dept at a resort, we had 5 of them for rent) and our surface was firm beach sand. i would say that anything on the lines of bitumen or whatever is lunacy unless you have all the safety bits.

the main trouble with these buggers is not so much the going but the stopping. even with a 3.2 (the largest sail we ran, an aerotech trainer sail available very cheaply at the time) these things really hoot along, which is fine until you step off and realise that you can't run that fast!

don't get me wrong, we had heaps of fun on these things, but the places you can use them are limited, and I'm not sure I'd be letting a bunch of kids near them without helmets and safety gear!

whatever you decide, good luck with your project, and good on you for giving the kids something interesting to think about!

matt