what to do with an old Windsurf

While driving on a Saturday I came across a yard sale and a huge windsurfer on the driveway, I had to stop j to confirm the price was too high and continue to my destination
The price was low enough I could justify coming home with it
I never mastered the courage to go windsurfing, I searched the net and I could not find any pictures of a 50 years old windsurfing
The following summer I had my own yard sale and like a good salesman I placed the 12 foot board standing up leaning on a light pole so the cars on the street could see my little treasure and getting double the money would not hurt so much to part with it and turn my silly purchase to a success
After injuring a couple costumers I realized it was too windy to display it properly so I decided to keep it a while longer


Problem: how will I transport it?
I made several drawing and decided the best way was to make the bench a dual function
As a seat and carrier for the windsurfer on top and two pontoons at the front and back
The solution was I could carry the all thing on the roof of my beetle
The fact that using the windsurf would make it unsinkable helped to cement the concept
The idea that a boat can stay afloat when in trouble is very appealing
The drawing looked amazing
I started making the bench on my front yard, I used aluminum rails from old blinds I had saved to support the base, I figured I had to keep the overall weight low and cedar were strength was not important and maple wood were it was
I knew I had to use recycled material otherwise the cost of buying the material would be prohibitive when I finished the bench I started making the frame for the pontoons
Not so easy, I soon realized just the cost of the resin alone would be in the hundreds of dollars, I also realized I would need to balance the weight of the craft evenly so 50% on the two pontoons and 50% on the windsurfer board, I estimated the gross weight at
600 lb , 400 lb 2 persons and 200 the trimaran
This meant I had to find a way to lower the board several inches in to the water for this balance to work … back on the shelf
An amazing fact is true, and I confirmed it true many times over the years:
I always keep a shop list in mind and magic simply happens
While at my friend Sid surplus store I came across a weird aluminum construct …it must have been
A prototype of some sort, I did not know if I could use for sure, a pair of welded wings to a pentagram base, like the rear of an airplane from the 1950s, about 20 inches wide and 12 high, I picket it up and I soon found a second one nearby

The pontoons came from kijij while shopping for something else they just appeared on the same page…magic… the man had just listed them one-hour prior,
I couldn’t make them any better and for a fraction of the cost of the material alone
While doing all this I kept an eye on the Internet for ideas, very little to go by
I saw many home built projects but nothing like mine this will add a huge amount of problem solving later and many trial and errors

It meant I had to solve and foresee all the potential problems on my own, the second
Biggest task are materials, for that I have collected a large assortment just for this purpose
Being a little old to be on the water I had to break the important rule of keeping the design simple, not having any experience in sailing but been on rough water a few times I need more options, so when I came across a used trolling electric motor
It was an easy decision to get it, prior I also redesigned the bench so it would be stronger
This happened when I found a couple old wood chairs with a small but strong frame

I mounted the aluminum wings on the surfboard by adding several layers of fiberglass to the board first
And a lot of resin at the bottom of the aluminum base, just in case they fail
A made a contraption by installing an extra support using the original sail shaft cavity
The wings are connected together with a pair of 2x4 cedar that will bolt to the flat base of the bench, there is some built in flexibility as 50% of all the weight will rest on the wings I am guessing 300lb, I feel they may fail at over 800lb the aluminum appear to be of very high quality, I am relying on my construction skills, and a promise when I do not like what I built to take it apart and start over, the most difficult I find is always visualize if what I am doing how will affect the rest
These are important decisions the reliability is unproven and untested so I do take my time and I always look for alternative before proceeding to the next solution
Going to unknown can be problematic and it really tests your confidence
The sail mast holder is 1.5 inch copper pipe, it is screwed to a 8 inch aluminum base also held down by fiberglass layers to the surf board and some strong oak wood above attached to 2x4 cedar the sail mast will fit outside the copper pipe and the all structure can be taken apart by removing the treaded pipe and four bolts
I have the original sail from the windsurfer I am planning to use it , the setup is not for a sail boat, the long edge is sawn so the mast goes inside the sail this has been difficult
To work with

since this has been my first project i decided to use recycled material
and only as a last resource get new so i may call it : "Recycled"

 

That's gotta be the longest first post record.

I couldn't get through it.

Nice pictures though.

Another good use for a used board is a weather vain!

Or is it vane?

-Tom

 

lol..Weather vane or weathercock you may say Tom
to me just an idea

 

pretty fun looking contraption made from "found" materials. looks to me like the two hulls will support the whole thing, so not sure there is a reason to have the surf board up the middle. It just adds weight.

It is not clear to me how you are going to drive it, the sail board sail? If so how you going to control it from the bench seat?

 

Let us know what the water temperature was, when you get back from your first voyage.

 

here at Palo Alto, CA lagoon and dock, we got mostly over 50 windsurfers.

And 90% of those are on high performance rigs because the little zone is world renown for stiff breezes at particular times of day, and very windy most of the time.

On the other end, I was taught to windsurf by a 50 something buddy on his big 'learner' board. He steps onto it in his college professor loafers and tweed suit and never falls off, while packing and lighting a pipe and talking on the cell phone.


"paddle boards" are big craze, even for older people who don't like sitting in a kayak. Seemed too easy to fall off only time I tried it.

 

Hello Petros
both electric and sail
the electric motor can be removed togheter with electical console
and steering lever
i replaced the original speed controller with a 40a 24v electronic
one, there is a forward stop and reverse switch as well as amp meter
and voltmeter, the electrical console also has a power switch and a 100amp
circuit breaker
i will use the original sail and originam boom, the copper pipe you see in the picture will go inside the original 15 feet mast,

 

hi Par
I will be testing it in a pool first..lol

 

i agree Squidly-Diddly

I do not like the idea of sitting so close to the water on a kayak

this has been a fun project and i hoping to finish it by the mid of june
i have no disire to go fast on a racing style sail boat
over the years i have seen people doing silly dangerous thinks
on expensive boats , does not interest me
this does, without the windsurfer in the middle there is no way i could
add a sail on a pair of 6 feet pontoons
that would a truly silly idea

 

wow
I guess i the title should have been :
"what not to do with an old windsurf"

 

I bought a windsurfer hull on ebay for 99c, I paid a dollar though 'coz we don't do cent pieces any more. I cut the legs off a plastic garden chair that was looking stained. I strapped the chair to the hull with a ratchet strap, I use the contraption to paddle to my boat with an old kayak paddle. Represents great value boating & don't worry about leaving it on the roof racks of my car parked any where. It's a good thing. Jeff.

 

i put leeboards and an old windsurfer rig on a 12ft flat bottom ply dinghy once , that thing used to fly with a decent breeze, when i got to my fishing spot i would roll the sail up on the mast and tie it off with an occie strap, worked really well and had no boom or stays to get in the way when fishing.

 

Re:cycled,

I'm not interested in the pedal boat but rather the "power boat".

Thanks though.

-Tom

 

If you bolted the shopping trolley to it there would be somewhere to put you beer!

 

Gotcha !!