Is the design OK on ice board with swiveling front ski/blade

[DelCarpenter]

In the summer I bought an old, T-shaped ice board. It came with a set of short skis, a heavy set of thick blades, and a light set of stainless steel blades. Each of the three attachment points allows the ski or blade to move up or down to fit the terrain. In addition the long part of the T where the front blade or ski attaches has a swivel that will rotate 360 degrees. I am now wondering, when I hit a bump hard enough and the nose lifts off the snow or ice will the front blade or ski be likely to swivel enough to be a problem? Theoretically it could swivel 90 degrees, stop the forward momentum, and send me flying off.

The first photo shows the board which each of the three varities of "runners." The second photo shows the long arm of the T with the swiveling attachment and a thin blade.

I might not have sailable conditions for an ice or snow sailor until January.

[joethewindsufa]

you need Jeff Brown of IceRatz to comment on that
my homemade sleds have no moving parts
your front blade looks like it can slide on pin, swivel and spin
i have no idea how that is supposed to work
but like i said my ice and snow sleds are much more basic

[DelCarpenter]

I will search for Jeff Brown of IceRatz. Thank you.

Yes, the front blade can slide left or right on the axle, the blade's nose can pivot up or down on the axle, and the whole part connecting the blade to the board's nose can swivel 360 degrees horizontally.

I plan to make sleeve washers for both sides of the thin blades to eliminate at least 95% of their possible lateral movement. The heavy set of blades already has flanges on both sides at the axle to almost eliminate their lateral movement. The fitting around the axle on the skis is wide enough the skis have almost no lateral sliding.

I'm expecting the length and width of the ski might prevent any swiveling of the front ski in most conditions. The heavy blade is about twice as long as the thin blade and it weighs 3-4 times more. When I get the right conditions to test the board I'll test with skis or the heavy blades before I try the thin blades. And might test with either a ski or heavy blade in front and the thin blades in back.

"It is better to go slow and wish you were going faster, than to go fast and wish you were going slower."

[joethewindsufa]

actually , on this forum Iceratz is Jeff Brown's user

DeanWithrow is another crazy ice sailor

https://www.iwindsurf.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=19646

[KBack]

Your blades look like they are grounded down to almost look like a knife edge all that is going to do is cut into the ice and slow you down with no glide... you need to have an edge like a skate blade.....

[DelCarpenter]

Blades, skis & swiveling front:
1a. The two thin blades that go in the back have either "left" or "right" scratched on them. They are ground like skate blades, but at a slight angle with the outside edge very slightly higher than the inside edge. The front blade is ground with a slight v. They are 27.5 cm overall, 24.5 from back to rocker. They are 2 mm thick. The center of the attachment hole is 14 cm from the back and 7.5 above the bottom of the blade.

1b. The longer and much heavier blades are ground with a slight v. They are 6 mm thick, 46 cm overall, 35 cm from back to rocker. The enter of the attachment hole is 23.2 cm from the back and 7.2 cm above the bottom of the blade.

2a. The two rear skis are 147 cm long, 136 cm from back to rocker, 71.2 cm from back to center of attachment hole. The front ski is 131.7 long, 119 cm from back to rocker, 71.2 cm from back to the center of the attachment hole. Each ski is 7.3 cm wide.

3a. I also posted my question about the swivel on the front on Iceboard Windsurfing on Facebook. Feodor Gurvits said, "your horizontal axis is 1-2" behind the vertical one, that makes it self centering, I use same on my speed board. However I prefer to use steering bar linked to front skate, it makes turning easier when not "power on"."

The iceboard is 175 cm long, the widest part at the back is 76.5 cm wide. The center of the swiveling attachment point is 151.6 cm from the back. As Feodor noticed, the center of the axel which the front blade or ski attaches to is 3.5 cm from the center of the swivel. On the deck there are screw holes for a one-bolt twist-on base at 118, 113, 107, 96 and 90 cm from the back. The center of the back axels is 5.8 cm ahead of the back of the board.

I think when I try the board I'll use the skis first and leave the front ski on when I try either set of blades.

[joethewindsufa]

every time you say ski on front n blades in back, i cringe
for me metal is ice and skis are snow
i have NEVER tried to mix em up ...

[marc5]

Oh man, that brings back some painful memories.......

Iceboarding up in WI, screaming along just fine....no harness of course....when I hit a rough patch. Somehow I got pitched onto my *ss. Have you ever seen a blue moon? I mean a really big blue moon???

I recommend full hockey pads and then some.

[DelCarpenter]

Joethewindsufa, perhaps mixing blades & skis would or would not be good for you. I'm already cringing, somewhat worried about the directional stability of a front blade attached to a 360 degree swivel on undulating terrain (drifted snow on top of ice) that could induce bouncing. I am cringing a little less about that, but I think trying a front ski on a t-shaped board with blades at the back is worth doing.

Marc5, oh yes, while sailing on a hard surface, be it a parking lot or snow or ice, I always wear a motorcycle helmet, elbow pads, knee pads, & thick clothing. I think the sight of my safety attire also helps prevent hassles from whoever sees me in their parking lot, because it helps make me look less like a liability for them when I look serious about being safe. My latest soft water day was Nov. 9th. Since then I've had 13 days of land sailing my windsurfing rigs on mountain boards in parking lots (mostly church lots).

The number of my 2015 days with some sailing is now up to 95. I'm trying to get to 100. With family coming for an early Christmas and some travel immediately thereafter, I'm down to only 8 days with clear potential and possibly 5 others to get in 5 more. Since some days probably won't have enough wind, I think my chances are only about 50-50.

[iceratz@comcast.net]

Del, I see you found all the world's icesurfing peeps on the Facebook page
It's where you want to be
For anyone interested go to Facebook search for "Iceboard Windsurfing"