User:Vincecate/WaterWalker2Page2

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More Videos

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Just taking stuff to the beach from the car. Seastead frame in background.

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First 10 minutes of moving on the water.

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Hobie Outback pull test. About 40 lbs for a short time. Really more like 20 lbs. I think that when the kite is off to the side the pull is something like 20 lbs too (can be much more when passing in front). If we say this model is 1:5 scale, then force in full scale would be 125 as much, or 2500 lbs. But we were going much faster than the scaled speed should have been, so really it is much less than this. Probably 1 or 2 760 lbs thrusters would work.

Transport

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Driving to the beach we had the 4 legs bolted to the wood piece folded together and loaded on the rack. It really seemed a bit heavy for the rack. Coming back we had just the legs with 2 on the right and 2 on the left and it seemed much better.

Possible things to work on next for this project

• Fix platform design so it is more stable
• Get a modern kite-surfer kite that can de-power and also water-launch if it crashes
• Go to a spot with deep water and land 2 miles downwind on a day with less wind
• On a day with no wind use Kayak to pull model and measure speed (not many such days in Anguilla)

Intended results from experiment

• How fast kite moves model
  • Single kite
  • Kite flying in figure-8
  • Multiple kites at once
• How fast Hobbie Outback moves model
• Largest angle left or right of downwind that we can do with kite
• How 4 legs works without diagonal bracing ropes (moving leg WaterWalker)
  • Expect ropes to always stay taught so each of the 4 faces on the pyramid stays the same area
  • Think a wave hitting a leg sideways still does not torque hinge in bad way
  • Think there is never any danger of tipping over or a leg folding under

Construction

Is Vince the first human sitting on something called a "seastead"? If so this historic event was Jan 6, 2009. My next seastead will have more floor space.

Miguel flying a 2-string kite for the first time and doing well. We are checking out 2 kites that had not been used in 10 years and training the crew. This location is where we plan to start the maiden voyage from.

This kite is about 5 feet wide but seems to get up 20 to 30 lbs pull when flown in figure-8 in typical Anguilla wind. We put a long tail on to reduce the chance of crashing.

My son Teryn is chasing after the tail.

Amoni checking out the 4' by 4' lower platform with central column. Since this picture I decided to just suspend the platform with ropes from the corners to a short center column and the nearest leg. Was worried about stress on hinges, in particular if the legs are moving and attached to the platform.

In the background are the 4 barrels. One is filled with 400 lbs of water and suspended from the backhoe to test the rope connections to the barrel - seems fine.

Looks like it is going to be big! Going from this flat position to the pyramid shape or back to flat is not very hard (particularly on sand where a bit of a drop coming down is no big deal). But going from pyramid to 4 legs together and horizontal or from 4 legs together horizontal to pyramid shape is not so easy. The center of mass is 10 feet in the air and people are like 6 feet high. With two ropes to the top it can be done but next time I will just do flat method.

Shows how ropes attach barrel to leg. Rope going around legs will go through the same thing on the leg.

Amoni, Vacquelin and Miguel getting the parts together. We needed extra washers to pad the bolts as they were just a bit too long and ran out of washers before we could finish and lift it up in the air.

Vacquelin, Amoni, and Miguel checking out "crows nest" seat.

Other Pictures

In the end we did not have the diagonal ropes and the main rope going around was at the ends of the legs.

Got these 3 barrels for $20 each from the concrete plant. Now planning on using 4.

This 3" by 3" square tube is 20 feet long and cost me $53. Tropical island prices include shipping and duty, so are usually nearly twice mainland prices. I just got one so far to make sure I can work with the ends and that it is strong enough.

Testing 20 foot steel box-beam (square tubing) with 250 lbs on it.

Testing 16 foot 4x4 with nearly 300 lbs on it. The extra weight came on of its own accord.

Sponsors

After this has been built, tested in the ocean, and documented on the web, these sponsors have pledged these amounts:

• Joep - $300
• Jesrad - $200