Owner of way to much Kite Gear and a Class5 but as I age time for a new toy for the windier days that I can transport a bit easier.

Very much a WIP but I have most of the bits or they are on the way to get started.

Sail based on the Bic/Tahe 4.0 kit (currently some on Evilbay Oz and the seller sold me one for a chunk under the listing price.

Buggy and the reason my Brain decided to build a new Yacht I went looking for a replacement seat for my old Buggy or making a new one and an entire Libre Buggy out of the UK jumped into my EBay basket (sub $500 AU Pesos landed to my door)

The plan is to add some lower rails to the Buggy frame and plates for the seatbelt and braces to run from up to the mast step. The Buggy I am getting is the older more straight tube instead of the one shown here so still some more detail depending if I build a new one when the Buggy arrives. I looked at the 'easier' option of running the braces to the rear axle but getting in and out would be painful due to the angles.

I have had a rewatch of John Holgates YouTube videos and tried to search the 'hidden' (why?) older posts here as a start point.

Couple of basic questions I guess.

57x54 Internally polished Stainless or 60x54 Aluminium for the Mast Step? I have the bits coming to reinforce the mast and a plug of Balsa to go in that to help spread the stress points.

Boom at this stage I am leaning toward Rectangular Box over Tube as I think it will suit the plate idea I have for the outhaul and sheeting rope. 50x30 or 40x20 are the common Aussie sizes.

Couple of Renders in my Profile of the project I cant post here because I am a newb

Firstly, before you change anything on your buggy, try using it with a small kite. sooo much fun, you might never want to use a mast again!
Then, if /when you go ahead with your project, I'd suggest you acquire an actual sailboard boom of appropriate length to use with your sail, as I suspect it will be really difficult to get sail to set correctly with the boom below the sail as illustrated. Your sheeting system and side struts (due to compression loading) would need to be immensely strong in your illustrated configuration, but not so much if the boom was perpendicular to the mast as is normal on a sailboard rig.
You'd probably pick up a boom dirt cheap and it'll also be lighter than the alloy section you proposed, as well as being well clear of your head.

It is just another 'toy' for me

I was Buggying when they were still made in NZ by some Larrikin called Peter Lynn in his shed surrounded by sheep and used to bend axles, break 12mm axle bolts and footpegs and ourselves a whole lot

The sheeting and boom system is a multi block down to the rear Axle then fed back along the boom to the mast to use. So you are only transferring 1/3 or a 1/4 of the load along the boom depending on blocks. Part of the idea is also that the more downhaul you put on the boom you will also tend to add outhaul because of the plate and boom flex caused by it.

Got the Balsa blocks in to turn a mast core / load spreader balsawoodsurfboardsriley.com/ nice guy to deal with if you need some in Oz.

Yeah, okay, I was just looking at the high angle of the foot of that sail, and thinking that the tension required on everything to sheet it to the desired shape (with the boom mounted below) would be huge because of that.
I'd love to see the outcome of your innovation, be sure to post some photos when it's done!

I was trying to avoid running a Blokart type extension off the frame if I can. Over a Coffee I took an actual look at some angles of dangle for the rigging. Getting closer to vertical is better as you put less load down the boom and more into the actual downhaul. It might be I do some runs without any extension then decide I need to add one I guess.

The sketch is a bit arbitrary as the final mast location will influence the angles as well but the idea is you will get a couple around a flex point in the boom giving you a bit more outhaul in the process.

As a mast support/internal strengthener (if it's 48mm or 45mm) we use aluminum in a 3mm wall, as long as possible up the mast with 4 vertical slots cut into the top 150mm to spread/reduce the stress riser area. It can be retained with a countersunk screw just up from the base, or if you have time, glued in with silicon. (Which will take a long time to set).

Going a little more R/C Glider or Plane for my mast. Failure of Carbon or Carbon Glass tubes or spars typically happens due to deformation FIRST then failure after that. So Balsa or Divinicell or a mix of both gets used between skins and spars and reducing material progressively to avoid a sharp stress point.

Carbon inner tube 500mm (2mm Wall thickness) then cored with some of the balsa block turned round to 600mm (so above the Carbon Tube). This lot will get Epoxy and Microballoons to take up the tiny difference to the inner of the mast. Carbon tube off AliExpress 4TW. About $50 AUD delivered

The Stainless polished inside and out arrived this morning is bang on spec BUT the mast is a fail for about 5" it is up to 0.2'ish mm FAT It won't take a lot to fettle it down and just making the bottom end of the mast smooth will likely take out the tiny high spot. It is a 500mm bit as well but likely will get cut down to 300-350mm. It goes on from the top to the Silver Texta line and on the bottom about 20mm up.




Just got a file for the Falshaw Plastic Hub lets just say the 15km/hr is a 'guideline I have pushed them to well over 80 before I went to Aluminium rims.

So the Libre VMax II turned up after taking three weeks to leave the UK it took 5-6 days to go half way around the planet to me. Something very wrong in the chain.

Very interesting weldment on the downtube say this Buggy has been Yachted before??? The former owner knew nothing about it but that would be my guess and it wasn't really visible in the for sale shots.




As the actual Buggy is a little shorter than I was basing my initial thoughts on adding a lower rigging bar (Blokart'ish style) off the Axle tow point makes sense. The Lower Rails and Triangular plates will just make it more like the current crop of Race Buggies and really stiffen up the frame. Mast Step, Stiffener Bars and the Rear bar on or off to swap modes will be 6 Bolts. Side plates will allow the mast step about 80-100mm of travel on the gooseneck.

Mast step as shown it about final. 7x85 mm Gal Lintel cut down to size as it is cheap and available locally. Round bars across it for rigging attachments and also frame stiffeners.

Off I go to the Metal Shop then get some practice TIG welding Stainless to ordinary steel before I get to the Mast Tube lest I make an actual hash of it.

Buggy looks like it may have been used as a trailer towed behind another buggy and footpegs attached there for the kids??
No need to worry about the Falshaw wheels they are as tough as nails.

Possible but no way I would want a Young Kids Feet or Legs near this travesty of 'Welding' Couldn't even remove the Mig Wire or a rough Sanding before Paint.

The Frame on the Libre Steel buggies are all made then Hot Galvanised then Powdercoated on top. Might be the Butcher responsible tried welding on top of the Gal?

Time to Mask and Glove up to chemically remove some Powdercoat to save as much of the Gal as I can on the Side Rails and Gooseneck. At least in Oz we can still get nasty Paint Stripper. Anyone who hasn't tried in the past Powdercoat is a dog to Sand (it melts and smears) so if it wasn't for the Gal it would be off to the Local Sand Blaster.

When Finished with the new Welding bits some Cold Gal over the welds then a coat or two of Single Pack Epoxy Enamel rather than Powdercoat which I hate on bits that get knocked around.

Sailing version took a detour as my 11m R1V2 Christmas Present to myself 'needed' evaluation for non masted play. Back to it next week now the silly season is nearly sorted.

My Ozone 11m R1 I've had since 2015 is still my favorite kite for buggying. Also have a 7, 15 and 18.
Rob Lukin in the foreground with me in Yeppoon QLD.

Ran across some videos on YouTube a few weeks ago of some of that. Enjoyed Bribie last time I was up that way and the main beach from Byron to Brunswick heads is a great run too just avert your eyes near the Nudie beach about half way along. Had the local Boys in Blue pull up alongside and roll down the window for a chat 'Do you know you are doing 63km/hr?', 'Is that all I can go faster if you like ' 3.5 Raptor fully wound up and on the edge of silly.

Just had the 11 out for a run in 8-12 knots and I definitely NEED more kite. Would have been some Video but I did a dumb and put a 32Gb card into my old Camera that only takes 16Gb

Now where is the Plasma Cutter and Welder and some space to work .....