Mr Monkey's Landyacht


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Before going on holiday, Mr Monkey managed to persuade Mr Rik to build him a landyacht. Tests in the back yard of the rented house indicated that the yacht was a little too light (the way it blew over was a clue) and a pair of batteries were wired underneath the landyacht's seat.

Using the modified landyacht, Mr Monkey spent a happy morning bowling along the beach at Seahouses. We'd like to stress that these pictures aren't posed - he is actually being propelled by the wind. Until he crashes or runs into soft sand, that is. Here are some zipped downloadable mpeg files to prove it -

Follow the links on the images below for larger pictures of Mr Monkey harnessing the wind

Mr Monkey and his landyacht at rest Mr Monkey in his landyacht approaching camera Mr Monkey in a landyacht with one wheel in the air Mr Monkey's crashed landyacht Monkey in his landyacht from a distance

Construction notes:
Body : two sections of dowel, connected by a balsa block and wrapped in tinfoil.
Wheels : foam tyred wheels intended for radio control vehicles, held on with balsa washers, drinking straws and drawing pins at the rear, and a plastic frame at the front.
Mast and sail : mast is thin dowel, the boom a chopstick from Mr Monkey's local Chinese takeaway. The sail is from spare cloth of some sort, reinforced with wire as the rigging is totally decorative and non functional. When actually used on the beach, the mast was braced with wire which seems to have prevented the mast snapping off.
Seat : grey foam board.
Other details : pedals and most other details were made from black foam board or cardboard.

Return to Mr Monkey at the Domein Raversijde.

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Copyright Rik Shepherd and Mr Monkey. This page last modified 12 September 2006