Sport Today

Try Sailboard Warehouse, (800) 992-7245.

Bob Poortinga                      It's a hard wind that's gonna blow...

There was a long discussion about these kind of boards in this group
around November or so... maybe you can check an archive.

But why bother?  *If* we ever get any wind around here, why not
go sailing?

Ken "no rain => no storms => no wind => no skiing *or* sailing  :-(" Poulton

I even found it....

Subject: anyone hear of a landsurfer?

        Hey, has anyone out there ever heard anything about something like a
windsurfer on wheels for use on land?  I'd be extremely interested in any
information on such a thing.

                                Dan Roesinger

Subject: Re: anyone hear of a landsurfer?

Hey, has anyone... ever heard anything about... a windsurfer on wheels...?

Dan - They do exist, but I'm not sure where to get them.  My father got one
from the local (water) board shop some 4 or 5 years ago.  The trademarked
name is a Landsailor.  One note in advance: if you buy or build a Land-
sailor, be sure to make it at least 12" wide.  The standard Landsailor is
too narrow to have fun on.  And wear a helmet!  8-P

                                        Mark Wistey
                                        Bozeman, MT

Subject: Re: anyone hear of a landsurfer?

  There are several different brands of these.  Sailboard Warehouse carries
two: Norblan Speed (deluxe model) and Landcruiser(?) (economy model).  Their
number is (800) 992-7245.  I have no further information on them, only having
seen them in their catalog.

Bob Poortinga                      It's a hard wind that's gonna blow...

Subject: Re: anyone hear of a landsurfer?

Well there are two ways to go. If you want to zoom around parking
lots and other pavement type areas, I would recommend a skate board
size craft with a u-joint on it. ( I have one for those days I can't
get away ) Get the largest/widest one you can afford and mount the
u-joint as far forward as possible. Note that if you mount the u-joint
ahead of the front wheels you can have the rear wheels leave the ground
on heavy-unweighing manoevours(sp).  If you want to sail along the
beach you'll need a wind-toy or landsailor. I have a wind-toy and I
think the LandSailor is better ( although MUCH more $$$ ). Both require
hard-pack sand ( like right at the water line ) and are a lot of fun
if you can find the correct conditions ( there isn't much of a ocean
in Phoenix ).  I've tried the wind-toy on football fields and stuff like
that but it really doesn't work well. You need smooth surfaces.

Oh yea, wear the correct safety equipment ( helmet, etc ) or you
might never sail again!!!

bob

Subject: Re: anyone hear of a landsurfer?

Sailboard Warehouse (1-800-992-7245) was selling 2 varieties of these in
their summer catalog. The Norblan Speed went for $399 and was supposedly
capable of speeds to 60mph (now that's when you don't want to catapult!).
They also offered the Windcruiser for $229.

Finally, they also have a "skisurfer" for $499. I'll bet that would cruise.

--Fritz Knabe

Subject: Iceboards :-)

Distribution: rec

|>
|> Somebody mentioned something about an ICE-surfer recently, what do they do
|> for footstraps?
|>
|>    - Hens Vanderschoot

 I saw a video of some guys sailing these things a while back. It was part of a show done by a French Film/Video company who used to tour with these really wild action sport films. I can't remember the name of the firm.
 The iceboarders were kitted out in full motorcycle leathers,fullface motorcycle helmets, gauntlets, Boots and Skateboard pads on knees and elbows if I remember rightly. God knows what speed these things do (I would guess at ~70-80 mph
which is, what, about 120-140 km/h ?).
The iceboards were triangular, quite wide and with 3 skates. I didn't see how the skates were mounted but I would think that the front one probably steers somehow.
they had footstraps but,again, I don't remember where they wre mounted.
The whole thing looked *really* dangerous: I think if you fell on open ice you would be ok because you would just slide 'till you stopped but there seemed to be real possibilities for getting out of control and hitting something (ouch).
 I guess it would take even longer to stop one of these things than a speedsail/landsailer does.

     I think I'd try one if I got the opportunity though- at least people would
remember how I died :-).

Subject: Re: Iceboards :-)

Distribution: rec

We used to "sail" one of these all the time.  On smooth (black) ice, it's
an absolute blast; you can go *really* fast, and it's pretty safe.  
Unfortunately, most of the time the ice is really bumpy, and if you
slide into a piece of ice sticking up it *really* *really* hurts...

They're nearly impossible to stop; you kind of have to jibe and turn
into the wind without getting backwinded.

And you'd win $10k on America's funniest home videos!

Also, there's another version, the Freeskate(TM), which is a fairly
narrow (12" or so), shorter (2 feet or so), skateboard-style board
with wider, lower trucks than a skateboard.  These are what they
use in most of the course racing.  I don't think they have footstraps.

Rolland

Subject: Re: Iceboards :-)

Distribution: rec

There is great interest in the Boston area. The boards (?) were sold by
Madd Mikes Windsurfing Warehouse in Boston. The wern't very expensive,
as I remember. People went to the lake at Wakefield, MA, where I watched
them. The action was very reasonable that day-- all wore regular helmets
and winter coats. I would want knee and elbow pads as well. The blades
were held on by heavy-duty skateboarding trucks, the boards were aluminum.
People sharpen the blades every session or more. The fastest days are when
the ice has a thin layer of water on it. The fastest speeds are around
80mph (supposedly). People rarely use sails over 4.5m2.

Personally, I'd like to try it myself!

-Jthan

Subject: Re: Iceboards :-)

Distribution: rec

A friend and I made a few iceboards a couple of years ago.  They weren't
quite as fancy as some others that I've seen but they work fine.  It's a blast!

Here's how to make one:

  For the board we used some 1/2" plywood reinforced with another strip of
  plywood running down the center.  I think they were about 5 feet long and
  about 1 foot wide in the place where you stand.  The shape isn't important
  as long as you have someplace to put your feet.  The stiffness seems to matter
  though so cut it out, put some blocks under the ends and bounce around on it
  a bit.  I think you want it to flex a bit but not too much - maybe it should
  bounce up and down an inch or two.  You should put some no-slip of some sort
  on it.

  For the skate trucks (the part that turns when you lean), go to a skateboard store
  and get the widest ones you can find.  We put the trucks near the ends of the board
  which seems to work fine but you might try them in different places and see
  what you think.

  The blades are the hardest part.  I found some steel mending plates (about 1 inch
  by 6 inches and about 1/4 inch thick) that seem to work ok. Just go to a hardware
  store and look for thick steel bars.  You need to sharpen them with a 90 degree point
  (45 degrees on each side - like this /\ ).  People seem to have lots of different
  sharpening devices.  I made a thing out of plywood and angle iron that lets you bolt
  two blades in parallel about 2 inches apart at a 45 degree angle.  You can then use
  a
...

read more »

Call Sailboard Warehouse:
 1-800-992-7245

They have them for 399.00

Charlie

P.S. Get a lot of padding.