LandSailOregon.com

Serving Southern Oregon:
Gold Beach - Florence - Eugene - Grants Pass

About Landsailing:

Landsailing is the sport of sailing and racing on land in modified boats. A landyacht (also called landsailer, sailcar or dirtboat) is basically a modified sailboat that travels on three small wheels on the surface of land or on 3 blades on ice.

Landsailing has a long history. Egyptians and Romans mentioned wind powered vehicles even before Christ, but it appears that the Chinese actually put them to work first by attaching sails to wheelbarrows and plows to help moving them. Drawings on ancient Chinese maps also indicate that sail carriages and ice-sailers were used. Later, early in the year 1600, the European scientist Simon Stevin built a huge bus-size landsailer which he called a "sail-wagon" for transportation of 28 passengers on a sand beach. In USA the first sailing cars ran on railroad tracks. Some pioneers also experimented with "wind wagons" to travel West during the Gold Rush unfortunately with not much success due to the rough terrain. About the same time in Europe, the Dumont brothers started building the first landyachts for pleasure and racing. The first race was held in the early 1900 at a beach between France and Belgium and many followed until the present day. For more info please check the history sections at our links page.

Current speed records are 116mph on land and 143mph on ice, established with purpose build speed boats.

Note that a landyacht is environmentally clean. It neither uses any fuel nor does it create engine noise. The wind energy in the sail is the sole source of propulsion.

The front wheel is attached to a steering system. The pilot sits on the landyacht while he uses his his feet for steering and his hands to control the sail. The models we sell feature a hand-brake.

A landyacht can sail downwind, crosswind and upwind just like a sailboat, but it reaches higher speeds and accelerates much faster. Speeds we are sailing locally on short distances (parking lots, beaches) are of course nowhere near the speed records, but you still get a thrill even at "only" 25mph. It is a lot of fun!

You can landsail in winds between 6 to 20 mph. Low-wind-sailing is best done on pavement. You do not need much space, small boats like the Sirocco Sprint can race on areas no bigger that 2 tennis courts. On packed beach sand you need a minimum of about 10 mph wind. Oregon's sand-beaches are ideal at low tide and north-westerly to south-westerly winds.

Getting Started in Landsailing:

The easiest way to get started is to call us 800-867 6863 ext.808. You will surely need your own landyacht. The Windline Sirocco and Sprint models are an excellent and affordable choice. They are made in USA with an anodized aluminum frame that will last a lifetime. Their design evolved over the past decades to excel in performance, sturdiness, easy boat-handling characteristics and transportability. Find out more information about the Sirocco and Sprint models.

 

K&K Recreational Division, LLC