Almost had some good wind today, (been waiting for weeks) so went down to the park and ride to give it another crack. Super gusty as usual due to trees etc breaking the wind up, but a bit stronger than last time. Last run at the sports park was slow, -clocked at 14kph (GPS) but more like 20 today on one run up the park. Still waiting for the perfect day on the beach for some decent speed trials, (bit dodgy going too fast with kerbs all round, easy to break things.)

I've made some improvements to the steering head with bushes to reduce play, (drilled out the steering head both ends) and it now steers a lot better. The bushes are a bit firm, but the 20kg MG digital servo has no trouble with it.

Just in the process of re-modelling the rear mainsheet catch dowel (as mentioned earlier- increases inhaul by changing the mainsheet angle) as it was a bit short and the sheet was slipping off when sheeted hard in. I'm lengthening it, and notching the Formica servo arm to clear it. Always improvements to make for better performance. Hopefully more speed next post.

JB

Finally! some good wind from the right direction to try the yacht out on the beach, Sand is very sticky still and a bit soft, (last cyclone ruined the sand with tons of silt from subdivisions up the estuary) so the speed and tacking wasn't great and pointing was non existent. Ran it constantly for around 40 mins and covered 3.48km at a max recorded speed (not constant) of 21kph (would have been far faster on asphalt) The distance is further than you can see in the vid, from the cliffs at the southern end to the hill at the northern end so it did quite well.

Fell over a number of times due to the sand stopping the turns, but I got a lot of exercise walking up and down the beach, righting it😁 The mini keychain camera worked well and ran for around 50 mins before I unplugged it. It has been modified with a Nokia phone battery on a lead for longer video time, (original tiny built in batteries only gave around 30 mins max when new, and this one had died after about 12 yrs of using the cameras in boats and planes. Picture is not brilliant but does the job.

Mainsheet block has now been modified to stop the sheet riding off the pulley, (a handy thing with vids showing problems you may not otherwise see.) The beach should be better in summer as it dries out quicker and is harder when the tide's out. The yacht got slower towards the end, and wouldn't tack, so had to be gybed to turn round every time, as the tide was coming in and the sand was softening, plus it was getting cold.

Lots of fun all the same but the quest for more speed goes on.

JB

Made a new slightly longer (80mm) rear axle which has the wheels cambered, and very slight toe-in. Works quite well and is a lot more stable on tacks and gybes,- doesn't fall over as much now, just drifts instead. Good wind but the tide was in, so the bus station it was. Wind was the wrong direction there, but did the job for the test..

JB

A bit more fun at the carpark with a bit of 'cross country'. Still no decent wind for another beach run, but at least it's getting some use.

JB

Owing to the amount of camber on the rear wheels which reduced the ground clearance, causing it to get get hung up on certain objects, I thought I might try some larger wheels to increase the ground clearance to round where it was previously. After adding the camber, the yacht would no longer run on the playing field grass, but was a lot better on the seal.

It ran quite well on the beach, but the rear wheels were a bit too thin, and tended to sink into the sand, creating drag and preventing it tacking well, and needing to be gybed on the turns most times. I spotted some larger wheels in the big local hardware store (130x20 as against the 100x12s on it at present) which looked like they might be worth a try, so bought the last 2 there.

Spent a few hours this evening making up some new stub axles for them, and just need to fit them to the axle tube (or cut a new one,- probably easier) and through drill them for a keeper bolt. The wheels are a bit heavier than the 100mm ones, so will add a bit more ' un-sprung' weight, which will act like ballast and improve stability. Hopefully they will work better on grass and sand compared to the 100mm

The centers in the 130mm wheels are maybe big enough to bore and fit a couple of small bearings, which would make the wheels run smoother and more accurately. Will wait to see how these perform first before I worry about that.

JB

Axle's done, wheels painted and fitted and ready for the car park this weekend (if it doesn't rain) or the beach if there's any sand left. Added some Dynema braces for the axles as well to prevent bending by hitting a rock /hole/ kerb etc

Also a pic of the beach after the latest storm. All the money the council spent dragging sand back up the beach with scrapers has once again been wasted. The new rope and pole planting was another waste of money, as the front row of poles is now hanging down to the beach (washed out after I took this pic).
The council refuses to put rocks on this stretch, despite it being washed out every year, (with them spending $100k + /yr on re-establishment) and all local residents demanding they do. Morons ! - and people wonder why the rates are so high ! The rocks on the right hand end stop most damage as can be seen, fairly obvious solution you would think.

Wind was a steady 44kph when I took the pics, had been up to 130kph in some areas in Auckland. Unfortunately too much rain and salt spray to try the yacht,- might have been interesting !

JB

Still making small improvements in the quest for speed. Having a good strong steady wind is still the main problem, as the carparks don't get a clean wind. Had about 18 knots a few days back, and managed to get a short run of 28kph (GPS) which beat the previous best of 21kph. May need a taller narrower sail or the mast moving forward a bit, to get the center of effort forward, as it drifts in a straight line in a high wind.

Tried the larger wheels, but they seemed to need a much stronger wind to operate with them. They may need bearings adapted to them to make them run more accurately. Gone back to the smaller wheels. Also changed the mainsheet to the end of the boom for less load on the servo. Sail doesn't go out as far for downwind, but it doesn't seem to matter.

Vids of short 28kph speed run (first run back) and drift/crash in big gust, (kerb got in the way)

JB

Latest vid (edited down from around 12 short vids) of sailing at the bus park . Winds about 20knts in gusts, but a few good runs. About 1 hrs' constant sailing on this outing. Looking at making a new sail when I have the time, to see If I can get better performance.

JB

Taking the land yacht for a walk in the park😀 Fun trying new places to sail, as some areas are in use (parking areas, bus park and ride parks etc) at times. Sailed about 1km back and forth (see pic of path) and had fun sailing on the curves, Lots of bikes and pedestrians to contend with, but would be good in a better wind.
Second vid is an industrial area with a new road and 30kph gusts. Only problem was all the goose cr-p on the road (looks like rocks) which was not too great. Wasn't long there before I had to pack up. as a huge squall came over.
JB