Flats foiler DIY log

This project has stemmed from my fitness SUP project. I have two vehicles under development now. Being amphibious and while on land, there are Australian rules and vehicle standards to comply with. These will slot under the rules and regulations governing E-bikes. It's a different story and set of rules in the water. Both devices will slot under recreational devices and not require registration if they remain under the 2.9kw power for marine use. The limit for land use 250w. Both vehicles will feature dual power trains


FB is mainly a dry ride vehicle with the rider out of the water at all times. The basis for this is a SUP wearing a gokart type frame suitable for the marine environment. This is getting the cross trainer device that I came up with as well as a 250w motor in the PAS format for a pedelec and a secondary marine drive system attached to the x-trainer


NC is a wet ride with the rider sitting around hip level at rest. I am facing the challenge of applying foils to the FB to balance the wet and dry drive systems to only have the fins on the wheels dipping into the water while underway. The foil challenge for the NC is to acquire enough lift to bring the rider out of the water underway


I'll have some pictures coming up later today with the beginnings of the construction. I have still to sort out the axles for the FB

 

Sorry, no build pics yet. I have been focusing on another challenge with these crafts instead. Looks like I will have to make my own sand and water tyres. Keeping weights down on this is a serious challenge

 

There is quite a bit of drama regarding the gokart shape for beach use. It seems both Transport QLD and our local council is only comfortable with the bicycle, recumbent trike and personal mobility device form factors. There is quite a bit of resistance to the gokart form factor even if it technically ticks all the boxes for E-bike

I need to dial out more of the amphibious capabilities out of the FB project but the NC project remains unchanged as it actually fits under the personal device form factor. Today has been more redesign on the FB frame and axles including a whole new lot of bearings selections

A conundrum that I am facing regarding the bearings for the FB is a question of cheaper parts and more fabrication (CNC and welding) vs more expensive parts and less fabrication. This includes things like routing out bearing housings in plate ally against using pillow block bearings. More fabrication also has the added plus of being able to control material and weights which cannot be done with more featured parts. Again taking the bearing example, a narrower and thinner high strength bearing can be housed in a machined cavity with oil seals separating housing from axle. Less expensive and lighter than stainless bearings on a stainless pillow block

Tyres for the FB will be under ride on mower type sizing with 16x6.5x8 for the fronts and 22x11x8 for the rears. I will be making the tyres custom for this particular application. Today was also about acquiring the materials for the rims as well as the inner tubes for the custom tyres

Another things fall into place today, I managed to come up with a very workable design for a CV joint/shaft for the rear axle to enable steering on the rear axle as well as allowing things like camber, castor, toe on both axles