Hi all after spending hours reading many of the fabulous topics on this great forum I've decided to join.so I thought I'd tell you about myself and why I've joined.In 2011 my family decided to to have a sea change but a proper one. we bought a 10.5m sailing catameran and I was enrolled in distance education.
On our trip I saw and learnt many things but one that stuck with me was a yacht that had a blokart on board. The the owner used to take ot to pancake creek (50 nautical miles or so north of bundaberg ).so since then I decided I'd like to build one for myself.
So once home(Bundaberg)in late 2013 I started learning some basic grinding welding skills from my farther making some small projects along the way and in mid 2014 started to build a land yacht. I have now finished and have done a lot of tweeking but I seem to have a bearing problem.after going for a sail I take the wheels off the yacht to transport it and find the centre of the bearing pushed out and the inside wall of the bearing bent. I wouldn't mind fixing this each time if the bearings weren't so expensive( $20 for a couple of hours sailing is quite pricey when your 15).one thing I've noticed is I don't have any negative camber like most yachts do on the rear wheels and didn't want to hack into my frame without being sure that that is my problem.
All comments would be greatly appreciated
Jack
P.S. sorry if I've made any mistakes I'm writing on a mobile until I acquire a laptop

I would look a a couple of other things before camber. Most kite buggies do not have camber and kite buggies have much heavier side load than land yachts. Camber will have an effect but its only part of the equation.

Do you have bearing spacers fitted?
If you do are they the right size? and are they machined square?

If you answer yes to both the above questions then we might need some more info?

Bearing type?
Wheel size, dimensions?
Axle diameter?
Photos of the failures?
What surface are you sailing on?
What % of time to you spend sailing on 2 wheels?

This diagram is a skateboard wheel but same principal.



For more on this see... www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Land-Yacht-Sailing/Construction/Bearing-Spacers/

Thanks sylk for the quick reply its very much appreciated. OK so with the yacht Ive measured it up and it is roughly 230cm wide 290cm long.
With the yacht I'm starting to sail on two wheels more often but I still wouldn't be on the two more than 10% of the time. With the wheels they are 400mmx100mm SCA (super cheap auto)wheelbarrow wheels with 25.4mm Axel diameter bearings.

The bearings are as said have a 25.4mm inside diameter and a 51mm or so out side diameter.

The problem is as you can see in the bearing on the right the center gets pushed out but that's caused by the inside bearing wall(bearing on the left shows the correct side)being pushed in towards the wheel and bending. I do use bearing spacers made of PVC that were machined but were very close to perfect(lots of fileing) but I recently took them out because they didn't seam to make any difference.
Oh and a photo of the yacht

Thanks again all
Jack

Hi
This is Sylk posting from my work account.

Well a picture tells a thousand words.
Those things in your picture are not bearings, more like cheep Chinese imitation toy bearings.

You want a 'sealed, high speed deep grove bearing" like the one pictured below.
If you cant fit propper bearings in those wheels then toss them in the nearest skip bin and get yourself a set of Falshaw wheels.


www.fallshaw.com.au/wheels/pneumatic/plastic
You want the Product code 400x8KNO with PWB(x) bearings (x = bearing size)
You might have to change your axle size to 20mm.


This is what it looks like behind the seal.


While your sorting all that out check out BenBoulder's pix here.

www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Land-Yacht-Sailing/Construction/Frogs-Legs/?page=2
There are a couple of pix of a cambered stub axle bolt and how it is attached to the frame.
I use these on both my kite buggy and class 5, works well.

Thanks heaps for that Sylk I should be able to get into town this week and get a set for the yacht. In the mean time I'm going for a sail wish me luck and thanks again.
Jack

Most industrial wheel suppliers should be able to supply you with plastic inserts that will let you fit
metric size deep groove high speed bearings either of 20mm bore or 25 mm
The wheel suppliers prices of bearings are usually cheaper than bearing outlets also
Fallshaw wheels are well proven on landyachts but yours may be OK with the proper inserts and bearings
If not the inserts and bearings and tyres will fit Fallshaws
Btw I did what you did with my family back in the 80s for a few years Queensland coast and beyond

Good luck

Thanks for the tips Hiko I'm I will definitely be getting some of those deep grove bearings I'm pretty sure that's my problem. Thanks guys for the help its always good having someone help you on your way.
I eventually persuaded my farther in to taking me down to one of my spots for one last sail before school starts tomorrow.there were no records broken but it was good fun with the wind being very patchy where I was.
Thanks again all

Jack

Hi again guys after a sail the other day I've decided to build a second yacht. the one I have at the moment is great fun but its a bit of a hassle transporting(and I never get a go coz everyone else is stealing it) so I'm but building one I can slide the rear axel's out for ease of transportation. At the moment I've built a steering assembly and main chassis but I'm just curious as to what the dimensions of a class 5 are before I weld the two together and cut my rear axles.I have had a look around the forum but can't seem to find any T shape dimensions.
Thanks again
Jack
P.S. just wondering if there any land sailers in bundy? Never seen anyone else is all.

I would definitely recommend a Lake Lefroy mini, if transport is your problem.
They break down and fit in a sedan for transport.

Bugger all difference in their outright top speed compared to a class 5 as well.

I enjoy sailing the mini much more as well.


Class 5
CHASSIS . The width of the yacht should not exceed 2.00 M.
The wheelbase of the yacht must not exceed 2.50 M.
The chassis must be made of metal tubes, the section of which must be round, square or rectangular.
Cables are forbidden, except for the steering.
Fairings are forbidden on the chassis.
Inside and outside wheelcovers are allowed.

Any wheel with wire spokes must be covered by internal and external wheelcovers.
Maximum diameter of the wheels : Including the tyre, the diameter of the wheel must not exceed 750mm. The wheel alone shall not exceed 26". The wheel width shall not exceed 100mm measured to the outside dimension of the wheel rim. [June 2012]

The maximum profile area of the sail shall be 5.50 M2 . (...) S2. The sail must be located onto the mast by means of a pocket. S3. The internal circumference of the mast pocket must not exceed 240 MM (i.e. 120 MM long when laid flat). S4. The sail must be free to rotate around the mast. S5. The mast pocket must be made of sailcloth. Stiffeners, fairings or similar devices fitted inside or outside the mast pocket are prohibited. S6. Fairings or similar devices fitted to the sail are prohibited. S7. The sail may be modified by a device as follows : 1. Cunningham hole 2. Foot tensioner 3. Kicking strap 4. Batten tensioner line or leach line. S8. The maximum width of the battens is 50 MM.

Hi chook thanks for the quick reply.about the mini I really like the design and was going to build one its just I really like the class 5 yachts and the transport problem is solved with the detachable rear axles and I have a trailer its just the old yacht was way to big and one side had to be lifted over the cage on the trailer. I also really like the look of this yacht with the chassis under the seat but mine will be a T frame not a Y

Many thanks
Jack

Hi all just a quick couple of photos of the new yacht.