Check this one out! Click on the pic for the movie! Enjoy!


http://www.lynnkitesailing.co.nz/index.html

Now if I could fit my wife and two kids on it...

Yeah, they're a fun ride, bring lots of power though, last time out was 20mph and my 16m Scorpion, kite set to half power on the internal straps, worked pretty good.

You tried one Pablo Are they available now? If so, how much do they run?

Yeah, brought one up for the local kitesurf school in Squamish. They've been teaching disabled people to get out on the water, The KiteCat is perfect for this. We've even had it outfitted by PL with hand controls for steering. We got our hands on a 2007 model, straight off the assembly line, I believe it has the bigger floats, nice duckbill tips to them, I've pushed it pretty good and it seems to hold in there no problem in flat or chop when well powered. All in all a fun ride.

Down side, Cost is $5000 can, plus shipping, that was close to another $800 to get it within a couple weeks.

Earlier in the year I had a quote of US $3750 plus estimated shipping/ customs of about $500

What about the quad kat? I really liked the look of that, and it seemed to turn much tighter. Maybe it was a previous version they tossed for some reason.

Quote:

Originally posted by acampbell Earlier in the year I had a quote of US $3750 plus estimated shipping/ customs of about $500

That's probably more like it, I sold one about 3-4 months ago and couldn't remember if it was 4k or 5k can, must have been 4k.

Don't think the quad cat's out yet.

How do you "hold an edge" and turn? is there like a foot controlled rudder? That seems fairly easy to make out of foam fiberglass and some PVC (material of choice) or even 5 foot long 8" diameter pvc with foam inside and capped off at either end with 2" seat and connecting rods. What about a fishing pontoon thing? with a rudder added on to it.

Yes i do build everything i want! except for paragliders, did make a hang glider though; yeah that went over "real well" when i hit the side of my neighbors house from my test hill on the side of my house (about 20 feet of flying distance) i launched and hit the side of his garage, then the glider (made of pvc, a tarp, and some duct tape) pretty much exploded but it worked up intill that point though.:tumble:

In the video there is clip of the rudders. There is one fore and aft on each pontoon & they both pivot in an opposing manner. That explains the tight turns. They appear to be broad enough to hold the Cat against any leeway.

I can't figue out how the forward rudder escapes damage on a beaching.

I think I'd start with a little Hobie Cat and modify it for foot pedal steering. Bring a freind to ride along on the upwind side of the tramp for movable ballast.

The rudders are made of some wicked stuff, designed for plowing the beaches. Turning is stupid quick for such long pontoons, for and aft rudders are partway down the pontoons. I think this really helps the turning. Pontoons are flat bottom. This gives you a nice sharp edge the length of the boat. You could probably hold enough edge to pull the boat right over if not careful while well powered. I went out with a 16m Scorpion in 20mph winds and found it nice, full power and I could get one pontoon lightly skimming the surface without feeling like it'd go over. Duckbill ends to the pontoons keeps it from submarining in the chop. Steering is with the feet like a standard buggy, just has a number of linkages to get to the four rudders.

The boat has been flipped a couple times by someone who belted themselves into it and tried to jump it. Not recommended as getting out of a flipped boat while strapped in can be kinda sketchy. No it wasn't me this time.


For a history on kitesailing and lots of pics of the different boats Peter Lynn tried to get to the final design look here and scroll down past the KiteCat specs:

http://canadianwindrider.com/products/watercraft/kitecat.htm...

I am thinking about putting some pontoons on my buggy with a keel on the bottom of the front one to allow for steering and one on each back pontoon to stop side movement. I'll just use some 4" pvc tube capped off with round caps in the fronts and flat on the back (flat are cheaper) and it doesn't matter as far as "hydrodynamacy" since thery are on the back. And I'll fill the pvc with foam and they will have a bike air valve so i can pump them up with an air compressor (because compressed air is more boyant than non compressed air) I would do this so the pontoons will be as compact as possible (i'm hoping i can use 3.33 foot long sections so i only hacve to buy one piece of pvc)

NPWFever

Don't bother pumping -- unless you want to create a partial vacuum by taking air out. Air weighs just a little bit, and putting more into a closed vessel makes the vessel heavier.

I'm not sure you'll get enough buoyancy (in any case) out of that amount of PVC. It's only about a third of a cubic foot of air and the PVC already weighs a bit.

But there are lots of cheap possibilities with various cast-off plastic pieces. I once found some amazing plasticized canvas "hose" with a 10" diameter -- totally air-tight -- that's used in heating ducts. A couple of wooden circles, two long pipe clamps and you're got a pontoon. Well, yes, you need to put a little pressure in it with the bike pump to make it rigid.

Ah "PL" means Peter Lynn. Got it. "WR"?

I'd have to agree with John_Adam, compressed air in your tanks won't displace any more water than ambient air. A flat back cap will also create a huge amount of drag through the water. Think of how those military drop tanks they made into bonneville racers are shaped. Air is a fluid, just like water. If it's a good idea to streamline the rear of something that moves through the air, just think how much better the idea would work when you transfer that to a thicker fluid. What about picking up three of those little snow toboggans? We had one about butt width and maybe 2 feet long. It was 2" thick and hollow. Just make sure they're waterproofed well. It was sure lighter than the 4" schedule 40 PVC I built my potato cannon out of, and a lot more hydrodynamic. I wonder if you'd run into problems tipping with only one pontoon in the front? Let us know how it goes!

So i guess compressed air is out but the foam would add a lot of floatation. Should be enough to keep me and buggy floating (even if that means i get my butt wet at first) but the like should lift me some and i will "plane" out of the water.......oooh, hydrofoils...... NONONONONONONO BAD NICK!!!!! (hits head on wall) sorry. that would be cool though. and yes the hydrodynamics do make sense but I'm not overly concerned with mega speed. Maybe a large plastic funnel epoxied on over a cap to create a better water flow(only on the back). any body know about how much foam it would take to float me? (130lbs) Although with alot of downward pressure on the front pontoon i wonder if i should put a hydrofoil under it. just a small one. Oh and i had one more idea what about french drain instead of PVC (tons lighter and serves the same purpose) and a lot cheaper.:frog:

About 10 years ago there was a twin sailed sailboat of sorts blazing across San Francisco bay. I thought it was built by Hobie. What made it so fast was a sort of reverse hydrofoil system. The pilot sat in a #@%$#!pit with pontoons much like surfboards to either side. A windsurfer mast was situated on each of these pontoons, and in front of each pontoon was a second one, set up in such a way that it pivoted up and down a few degrees. What slows down a sailboat is that when really powered up, the whole boat and sail tilt, effectively making your sail smaller. This thing overcame that with little hydrofoils mounted to the underside of the front pontoons. When the upwind side of the boat began to lift out of the water, the tip would drop a bit, making the hydrofoil pull that side down to the surface. This little bugger would stay absolutely flat on the water and just scream around! I couldn't find any photos or videos on the net, but it's a killer idea. I don't know why they apparently stopped production, maybe it was a #@%$#! to set up. It was also a single person ship.

The foam inside the sealed pipe will only add weight, not flotation. The sealed pipe will float as much as the weight of the water it displaces. The water won't know the foam is there. Picture a battleship made of steel and the absence of foam inside it. Many engineering schools have students make boats out of concrete. The trick is to make it displace more water than required to keep it and it's occupants above the water surface. Calculate the volume of your pipes and how much half the pipe full of water would weigh. That is how much your pipes will float when in the water. You use half the pipe volume because you don't want them to be submerged. I see you needing more than 10" pipe. An oval shape would plane better than a round pipe. Or better yet a flat surface. You will also need your back "wheels" to be way further out because when you side load your "buggy" it will want to turn over. Picture the kite kat.

Here's a link to the Hobie Tri Foiler. Very interesting toy that is no longer in production. I would have loved to take one out for an afternoon on the bay. I was wrong on a few details in my earlier post, but it still works the same way. It's a lot cooler than I had remembered.

http://www.hobiecat.com/sailing/TriFoiler%20History%20Origin...

Yeah i've seen that boat before but in talking to my aunt (who is a sailing nut) she said they dont sail well (she outdid one on her hobie 16 solo)

Odd but it does make sense. It would be like putting foam inside a boat and expecting it to make it float better. Maybe use 5 foot sections. I am kind of interested in the inflatable hose as that would pack up really small. does anyone know where i could get that?:cool2:

Easiest way to make a buggy float is to fit full bigfoots, I'm 250lbs and float no problem on a Libra Super Truck. Just the air in the tires is more than enough to keep me with the seat about 6" under water.

The hard part is in getting it to go where you want, Peter Lynn has been messing around with a considerable budget and 15 years to get the current KiteCat. Drag is huge as said above, probably why the KiteCat has flat bottoms.

If you want an alternative I'd go with either a small Hobiecat or one of those convertable kayak type things, the sort that can either be paddled, fitted with a sail or used with a surf kite.

So i should be able to float on the pontoons then. Who knows it would be a while anyway, i want to wait for summer

NPW -

Find a junk Hobie catamaran like these guys:

http://www.instructables.com/id/Instant-Kite-Boat/?ALLSTEPS

Now, don't forget to have your safety's working (check them) and start out way underpowered - these guys are seriously experienced kiters. Maybe a Hobie 14 and a smaller kite/lower winds.

I do know Saul recommended having the bar chicken loop attached about 14" back from the mast step, though the mast step is a convenient spot. I'm guessing 14" back is close to the design CE (center of effort) of the Hobie 16's rig, so the boat would be better balanced. Having the kite attched at the mast step probably explains the high rudder forces they experienced.

krumly

My aunt has a hobie 16 but there is no way she would let me take the mast off. I go to see her every summer and i will bring my kites for sure (i would like to try "skimkiting") and maybe stay close to shore with my 8 meter on a surfboard. So back to the kite cat, could i still use the kite with the mast on? The only issue would be the jib lines. We would have to hook them to the mast base but then the mast is still in the way. What if i used a harness to attach myself to the mast (like the mermaids on ships, lol) Could i kite from the trapeze? With the kite on the other side of the boat? IDK what bout a monohul? If not my aunt knows a ton of people, she can prob borrow a derigged hobie. What bout using my 8 meter with a kayak? I would haul some serious ***! Is it a really bad idea to use a foil over water? What if i put on some floats at the cells so they couldnt fill with water if i crash (I can keep my kite up just doing power stuff AKA no stunts) indefinatly so i would imagine its not the stupidest thing ever. If i hooked the kite to the boat and it sunk would it take the boat down? If not then at least we could get the kite back.

Thanks for the tips,
NPW

I just hope you'll be wearing flotation gear. You're going to need it.

I didn't mean any disrespect, it's just that some of the questions you're asking lead me to think you'd be a lot safer just sticking to land based kiting. A mast would definitely be in your way, and piloting from the trapeze sounds like it would be pulling from the wrong angle. How do you plan to control your rudder while holding a bar? It sounds terribly complicated. Just worried about your safety. I've been hurt and narrowly escaped serious injury/death countless times in my life, usually doing things much dumber than this. I know how it can be when you get an idea in your head that makes total sense. I've failed to consider one little detail too many times. "Well who would have thought THAT could have happened??" Just be careful, dude.

I'm thinking land is better for me unless i can find a LEI. And for steering my aunt would be at the rudders

That actually sounds like a hoot. Communication would be paramount. "No! I know I said port, but I really meant right!"

LOL! i didnt really think of it that way... yeah i think ill stick to land