Land Yachts

greenspun.com : LUSENET : Junkyard Wars : One Thread

Somewhat of a lackluster episode... I'm surprised they didn't wear out their shoes. I would have enjoyed it more if it were a wind-powered straight coarse drag race.

cheers,

-- Max (Maxel@inwindsor.com), April 02, 2001

Answers

Yeah, I'm with you on this one. This was probably the only episode I hadn't seen. After all that talk about how fast these things were supposed to go, it ended up being a Fred Flintstone push-cart race. As far as I could tell, the biggest problem was that neither team could get their sail(s) set tight enough. Loose lips may sink ships, but loose sails just let them flounder. Those things have to be as tight as drums to work effectively. Had either crew tried to tighten their rigging that much, the masts would have snapped and the sails ripped. Then again, if they had managed to get it right, could any one them actually sail the thing? (Except for the blue team's expert, of course.)

-- Chip Haynes (ehaynes@co.pinellas.fl.us), April 03, 2001.

The Driller Thrillers (the blue team) had the best chance of making a decent land yacht. The only thing that they did wrong was to put their sails even with each other. If they had staggered the placement of the sails, there would have been no stopping them. Assuming they would have been able to steer it of course. :) The Meglomaniacs had a good idea but they didn't have enough supports for their mast. They needed a couple of lines running from the mast to the yacht to help support it. The mast still might have bent anyway, but it definitely couldn't have hurt. I just thought I'd throw in my two cents.

-- William Barrett (wildbill65401@yahoo.com), April 03, 2001.

The two masts' relative position wasn't the problem. Unless you placed the mast one behind the other- as a ketch or yawl would- one sail will always stall the other one at some relative wind direction- unless they are far enough apart. The world record holder for sail boat speed uses just such a dual mast set up, but they are set considerably further apart on a very wide hydrofoil catamaran. I'd like to see this challenge done again, maybe in California. Get Hobie Adler to be one of the team experts and you've got your winner right there!

-- Chip Haynes (ehaynes@co.pinellas.fl.us), April 03, 2001.

I am by no means an expert on the sails, but when they were done with both racers I thought to myself..."THAT took 40 manhours!?!"

-- Dan Denney (rustrenegades@hotmail.com), April 03, 2001.

Good point, Dan, but don't forget: One team stopped for a main sail bar-b-que and vocabulary-building exercise, while the other decided to build twice as many sails as they needed. Personally, I'd like to have seen what Art Attack would have done with this one.

-- Chip Haynes (ehaynes@co.pinellas.fl.us), April 06, 2001.


Yea...you would think that people who build trikes would know that sparks + combustible = lost time...

-- Dan Denney (rustrenegades@hotmail.com), April 06, 2001.

Yeah, well- These things happen. I once loosened a motor mount on my BMW motorcycle only to find that it also held the kickstand in place. Very exciting.

-- Chip Haynes (ehaynes@co.pinellas.fl.us), April 09, 2001.

Reminds me of the scene in Spaceballs...( The robot was fingering a curious bolt in the middle of his chest. When it came out, he fell to pieces...)

-- Dan Denney (Rustrenegades@hotmail.com), April 09, 2001.

Guess you had to be there...

-- Dan Denney (Rustrenegades@hotmail.com), April 09, 2001.

That robot must have been watching me work on my BMW. Same result. If you pull out the bolt that holds the kickstand- while the bike is ON the kickstand- it gets to be an expensive lesson in rather short order. Thnakfully, I was on the side of the bike AWAY from the lean, so at least it didn't fall on me. BMW's are not light, so it was amazingly loud when it hit- and bounced- on the garage floor. Don't even ask about the expense.

-- Chip Haynes (ehaynes@co.pinellas.fl.us), April 09, 2001.


I use to have a 325i

BMW

Bring More Withya...

-- Dan Denney (Rustrenegades@hotmail.com), April 09, 2001.


Moderation questions? read the FAQ