Mayhaps you've heard of Eva The Board Lady, the legendary west coast board repair guru. A recent addition to her site is this simple and straightforward sailing simulator...a giant lazy susan for your board, made with plywood and golf balls. Eva says that the speed with which the thing spins is adjustable, so presumably it can be made forgiving for beginners whilst set wide open for working on Spock 945's.
I think I'm going to try my hand at making one of these.
(Photo: the guts of the turning mechanism. Image swiped from Eva's web site. While you're there also be sure to check out Disasterpiece Theater for some neat before-and-after repairs.)
Something interesting to put on my blog!
Posted by: Bunty | August 04, 2008 at 10:11 AM
That's just goofy, I love it!
Posted by: Joe Rouse | August 04, 2008 at 11:44 AM
Ned Crossely reminds the Peconic Puffin that you can buy a very similar simulator from the venerable Calema Windsurfing...here's a link.
Posted by: michael | August 04, 2008 at 05:04 PM
I'm excited about building one. Does one start with just 2 plywood sheets and use a router to cut the bearing races, or, is it better to cut the circle and ring from separate plywood sheets? Also, what is the size and contour of the bearing race? (I would like to get it right the first time).
Posted by: Bill McNeil | August 17, 2009 at 06:11 PM
Bill, I have no idea...you might try clicking on links on Eva's site and emailing her. To my eye it looks like the bearing races are a circle and ring cut from a seperate sheet. That's what I'd try.
Posted by: the editor | August 18, 2009 at 07:59 AM