Instant Land Windsurfer

Drill a hole in the front of your beach skateboard.
Bolt the gooseneck a.ki.a. universal joint a.k.a. mast step of your winsurfer rig there.
A shortboard mast step is perfect for that.
Go sailing in the nearest parking lot or hard beach.

A regular skateboard works too, but you'll go way too fast for a normal short board and it'll vibrate.
A longboard is better.
This rig is good wind insurance to carry along with you.
Not enough wind to sail on the water is enough to go terrifyingly fast on land.



Do you like this Instructable? Digg it!. Then check out the other episodes of know how: one, two, three, four, five, and six.

WARNING: wear more pads than the idiot in the picture.
This gizmo isn't just dangerous. It's guaranteed to fling you at the pavement really fast.
Wear every form of armor, padding, and safety equipment you can find.
Wiping out on pavement with one of these rigs is as bad as motorcycling.
I wiped out in my wetsuit once and didn't get hurt, except my wetsuit somehow got turned around.
For the next few weeks I was finding new injuries.
The wetsuit spared my skin, but my bones got all bashed up.

Comments

[ilpug]

The rendition of come sail away is... creative.

[munger17]

i made one out of a long board skate board and got trown down a hill it was the funnest thing ever

[mikek728]

 Check out this land windsurfing board.  Its called a turfdog


www.vimeo.com/8915971

[AMP678]

could i see some close up pics of the trucks please

[for2abs]

Are those just the regular trucks or did you have to add on to them or get bigger ones?

[TimAnderson]

I hoseclamped an axle and some dolly wheels onto the regular trucks.

[thingygoboom]

simply scary... the thing goes a billion miles and hour

[for2abs]

a billion might be a little overexagurating (theres no way i spelled that right) but mine i was going about 25 to 30 mph

[TimAnderson]

sounds like you tried it. say more! do you have pix?

[proffesor cuddles]

what is this skateboard - thing called?!?!?!?!?! I really want to get one! please respond soon

[for2abs]

the sport is called windskating

[sailirdude24]

its called a mountain board but that one is like upside down

[Edge]

that sounds so cool. just one question. if it goes so fast, how do you stop it? i'm not trying to act smart, im just curious.

[for2abs]

you dont have to turn you just turn your sail into the wind or jump off or coast to a stop and by the way on mine we drove a car down the road next to the beach and i was going 25 mph

[TimAnderson]

first method: turn into the wind and coast to a stop. second method: wipe out and get badly injured. Wear lots of armor and protective gear.

[Yerboogieman]

and if you start going backwards on accident i guess its method 2?

[for2abs]

haha im using the same sail as you but i have a mountain board or something cuz my dad went to look at a surfboard but came back with two surfboards and and a windskate. It says terraboard and its like t 130 or something if anyone knows where to get parts for this board message me...or something idk how this site works

[for2abs]

at least the same sail as in the pic

[lukichu]

you are using the skateboard upsidown!!!

[youtees]

the only good thing about using the trucks on top of the board is that it lowers the center of gravity. You have to reverse the truck direction also. If you do this...use skinnier tires as this set-up has such fat tires , it will be way too easy to get tire burns on your ankles. At even medium speed that word hurt like a#$%! and you would loose control. go with skinnier tires if you do this. the other bad thing is that the trucks are in the way. Low center of gravity is good idea on street luges and downhill street boards, but THIS set-up has too much awkward to make it worth it. Be better off(as I did)to make a drop board and mount the trucks underneath. If you use wide wheels you are better off with smooth surface than treaded as they will stay on top of the sand better and are faster. If you go with skinny tires...treaded is better. I like a longer board(mine is 50")for cruising the beach. as far as finding a sail...look on Craigs list under 'windsurfing' . I got THREE very decent sails for less than $200 for all three. The universal and extension cost me another $40 and the boom I got for $10.00!!! I made my own board from an old waterski I got from a thrift store for $8.00. I screwed a second piece of wood to the underside to get the flex right where I want it...mount the trucks(underside)...strap on the axle bars...load the wheels and you are good to go. My whole set up:THREE sails(3.7...4.5 and 5.0 meter), cost less than a decent mountain board alone. Except for the board(I made)and the wheels(ordered from Northern tool)I got it all off Craigs list. Tons of used windsurf stuff out there! and my sails look VERY new...in great condition. This is an awesome sport...go see 'streetsailor' on youtube.

[Rishnai]

We've always wanted to take the mailcart from the lunchroom here on campus and ride it down the hill. Now it looks like we'll have to also take the cart out to the parking lot and attach a sail, too. Imagine, windsurfing on a mailcart! On a less self-destructive note, if one had to buy it new, how much would a mountainboard cost?

[dodo91]

how did you make that icon? its cool and funny.

[Rishnai]

The flaming dude? I took the "no avatar" picture, and put it in GIMP. Then I made a black layer and put it behind the avatar dude. I grabbed the eraser and erased the dude's outline, selected everything outside of his body, and got rid of it. Then for the fire I found a picture I liked, put it behind the dude (and hid the dude while I worked). I color-selected the continuous fire, and ix-nayed the rest of the fire pic. Then I dragged it so it'd line up with the guy's head, put him back on top, and saved to jpeg.

[dodo91]

who cares if they use it upside-down? it still works the same. AWESOME! I gotta make myself one of these!

[sdtacoma]

Hawaii5, that totally looks like the runway that the mythbuster guys use from time to time.

[Xellers]

it is...

[conrad2468]

lol is that alemeda? (i cant spell it) lol the site of mythbusters, and diydrones

[Radioactive_Legos]

And Instructables.

[conrad2468]

.....and instructables....

[smithn]

id love to make this with a longboard but I don't own nor do I have any idea were to get a sail. there should be an Instructable for that. once I figure that out I am so going to make this

[Hawaii00000]

That looks like the same runway the Mithbusters use. Is it?

[mspark400]

yes, TimAnderson is in Alameda CA at the old squid labs hq if im not mistaken

[Hawaii00000]

Did you find the place where Adam went through the fence in the pole volt drive shaft myth? lol

[Yerboogieman]

yeah, sticks, trash bags and a skateboard DOES not work well, i learned especially if the wind is going the wrong way, lol

[GorillazMiko]

Awesome! I loved how you guys edited up Come Sail Away by Styx... you guys rule!

[Hawaii00000]

Ha ha ha you guys are soooo goofy. lol

[p07gbar]

You could combine the shopping trolley with this project.

[ArtisticBabe]

Now all you guys need is a hot chick who is crafty and has a knowledge of physics and you're all set to be the world's next amazing how-to show. :)

[DELETED_freewheeler]

(removed by author or community request)

[HAL 9000]

Bedsheets or tarps work really well as sails, I've seen people use both on small sailboats. just need to build a frame from something...

[Rishnai]

In addition to totally digging the project, I must say that I loved your parody (or whatever the right word is in this case) of Come Sail Away.

[joemonkey]

this is awesome! so, how much would it cost to make? i dont have either of those. but hey, thats what eBay is for! P.S. loved that song!

[Doom_Goat]

You guys have the best ideas on the Know How Show. I'm dying to build this, but other than the occasional dust storm, we have no wind in Phoenix. (thus the pollution)

[Calltaker]

This has potential for getting to and from work on the cheap if you live somewhere with consistent wind. Of course, you would likely have to do some figureing to get the tacking down to go in the right direction. WOnder what the cops would think of that one :) ~C

[I Love Nosferatu]

Neat. Would it have more stability if the mast was horizontal and the person was sorta sitting down? Ive been looking for this sorta thing but reclining.

[dan]

the 'sit down' version is called a landsailer or kitebuggy. do a google image search for those terms and you'll see quite a few. but those are a lot bigger and more complex than tim's version! i recommend tim's version on a hard sand beach, it's really dangerous/fast on pavement and there is no brakes.