At the end of last Summer I had been using my Yorker mini as a test bed for ski axles, front suspension, adjustable mast rake mast and different weight distribution, I was looking to for a bit more speed as well as a comfortable and safe sail on what is usually a lumpy and soft beach. Designing and building was very much a case of using the materials I had but I was influenced by some Seagull frame designs. I had the luxury of two pairs of skis for the axle and planned to use a bike suspension unit. The tub was made from 4mm ply left over from a failed attempt at laminated axles.
The axles have proved to be really excellent giving an excellent ride and absorbing the gust rather than wheel lifting all the time. The axles are held together by the axle mount, they have silicone sealant between them and they are mounted in a steel channel mounting, I did have an initial issue with one axle working its way out of its mount but that was solved with a location set screw at the inner end.
First time out with the yacht the front suspension as good as failed, it took on the characteristics of a plough as the mast socket was driven down into the beach, this was solved with a rigid link for the test to carry on. It was a very windy day and a reefed sail at 3.5m was all that was necessary to show me that I was meeting most of my criteria but it would not steer. One rebuild simplifying the front end made marginal improvements then a second increasing the steering angle to 45 degrees seemed to solve the problem. I have kept that front end set up but also tried a Mk2 suspension that has so far worked ok though more runs are needed to persuade me that its of real benefit up.
I am sailing my yacht with the original 4.5m sail from my mini (will reef to 3.50) and a recut windsurf sail (about 6m) for light winds, I can also fit balloon tyres if the going is really soft.
The yacht has now had quite few outings and I am really pleased with how well it goes, I certainly do not need to go any faster, I can use a range of sails and also tune it to bridge the wind speed / sail size by adjusting the mast rake
