 |
 Wellington Windsurfing
Association |
Only available to WWA members
The WWA simulator has been mentioned here before, and it's been
getting some use recently, with members borrowing it to give
friends an introduction, which is one of the reasons we bought
it. I thought it would be useful to give a brief description of
the simulator for those of you who thought it might be a cold
shower equipped with blank cheques an a waterproof pen.
If you look at the rough diagram you'll get the idea, it's
basically a cradle which holds a standard (largish) sailboard
which sits on a wheel supported off the ground by four legs. The
wheel allows the board to rotate (in the horizontal plane), the
resistance to rotation is variable and controlled by a hydraulic
damper, and simulates the normal "floating" resistance
experienced during tacking and gybing (a knob on the damper is
used for this setting). In addition the cradle can rock from side
to side (this is set by knobs at each end of the cradle) to
simulate the instability of a floating board. All you need to do
is strap on the board, attach the rig, set the controls and off
you go, you can teach/learn/practise uphauling, sailing, steering
and turning (tacking and gybing). A few words of caution
however...
The ground is hard, and learners can be hard on gear, use old
gear if possible and protect the user ( a helmet is not a silly
idea).
When released the mast does not fall it scythes in a high speed
arc and can be dangerous to onlookers, keep everyone back at
least 5m. If it's a busy area a rope barrier is a good idea.
The simulator breaks down into parts which can be stowed in most
cars, the largest component is the cradle, about 1.2m long. To
borrow the unit contact any WWA committee
member
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