.......... because the base on the board I'm taking lessons on looks to be about 4-5" in diameter.

Most of the time I use single bolt twist on bases for land sailing. I don't use the boards as longboards so the bases stay on. I like Chinook's two bolt bases so I save those for windsurfing on water.

The largest sail I've used for land sailing a mountain board is an 8.5 (I wanted to sail and the wind was very light). I'm sure the physics of a short wheelbase with a long boom argues against sails larger than something around 6.0 or 6.5 even though I hold the sail pretty vertical (no or almost no rake). Most of the time I use sails from 4.5 to 6.5. I weigh about 170 lbs. The "on-off" character of a wave sail is what I prefer for land sailing. But, the key characteristic of a sail, boom & mast suitable for land sailing is "cheap." Scraping the sail foot or clew and the boom across the parking lot surface happens much too often.

Hey Del! Since you seem to have a large arsenal of land boards (pic u posted next to ur garage) have you (or anyone else out there) ever tried to sail a mountain board on a field of grass late in the year (couple of soccer fields near me) when it goes dormant and tends to flatten out?

Garry, I tried a time or two with mountain boards on regular summer grass but was not successful.
As I recall the bumpy ride was the worst part, though getting started going on grass requires more power from the wind.
There are videos on YouTube or Vimeo of land sailing on grass with mountain boards so I know it can be done.
The two boards I have that were designed for land sailing have 16" and 12" bicycle tires respectively (last 2 on right in pic.)
I have good access to large cement or asphalt parking lots so I haven't retried grass since I got those two boards.
There is a several block square water works park in Waterloo IA a few miles from me that has mown grass and is flat.
I plan to try that one soon, if snow & rain stays away.

Del, I live in an area that is loaded with malls and parking lots but am leary of the exposure to the mall cops and PD ( "......take your crap and get the he** out!!"). The park soccer fields and parking lot in my town looks like it would have great potential since it's off season except for the sledding hill. They even have a couple of synthetic soccer fields that would be ideal. Might get some pushback on the synthetic fields but would cross that bridge with the park at that time. I've been trying to find a cheap used mountain board with no luck as of yet. Cheapest new I can find is about $140, but 32" long. I had a thought to build my own. I was looking at some axles and tires on line and thinking of modifying a snow board (hello Mr. sabre saw!) to fit the trucks, but would probably have to stiffen the board on the bottom side because I think it would be to flimsy. Maybe some aluminum stock (6-8" wide , 1/4 -3/8" thick). I think I could find a used snowboard on the cheap and about $100.00 for tires and axles. It might have a larger turning radius but a bigger platform for cruising in an open field assuming a larger sail is probably required to power it up.
Please feel free to share your thoughts or ideas as well as anyone else.

Here's a shot of the park, 2 grass fields and 2 synthetic North of the parking lot, as well as a couple other fields south of it.

Hi Garry,
We may be able to help each other. Three of my land sailors are for sale because we will need to downsize for moving within 2 years…and I really find it difficult to say I need 6 varieties.
1. $100 for an older Carveboard (overall 50 in, deck 39.63 in, deck width 11.5 in, wheel diameter 8 in, tire psi 10 to 50 as you choose),
2. $100 for an MBS Blade (overall 50in, deck 39.43 in, deck width 10.5 in, wheel diameter 8.5 in, tire psi 50)
3. $50 for an MBS Grom.6 (overall 41.5 in, deck 33.88 in, deck width 9 in, wheel diameter 7.5 in, tire psi 36)

They do not come with mast bases, though they are already drilled for the twist on single bolt Chinook bases I use on them.

1. In the picture attached to my 11-22-17 message the board second from the left is the pretty verison of my Carveboards. The other one which is for sale has dark green where the one in the picture has a light color; and it is significantly older. Carveboard changed the wheels on their current model to skateboard size wheels that are much smaller in diameter. In my mind that makes them somewhat more likely to be stopped by pebbles, crevices or bumps when going slow. I prefer the “Dragon Paw” 8 in diameter tires on the Carveboards I have. The Carveboard is designed for going down hilly streets & sliding around corners. Learning to do that is enhanced by having tires at a psi of 10 to keep you slow and can be inflated on up to 50 psi as your skills improve. I don’t do any of that sliding so I always keep the Carveboard tires at 50 psi for the least rolling resistence.
2. In the picture the 3rd one from the left is the MBS Blade. One of the wheels has bearings which make a little noise. The bearings are larger than what fits most skateboards or longboard skateboards, not available at my local sporting goods store & I have not bothered to contact MBS about them.
3. The MBS Grom.6 is not in the 2 year old picture. I traded the longboard skateboard in the picture for the MBS Grom last spring.

I should mention the 4th board in the picture, a Turf de Ville which has a 57.5 in long deck, is now greatly modified. I replaced the very heavy trucks which had independent suspension for each wheel with some relatively ordinary skateboard trucks & replaced the wheels with 7 in diameter Onda Longa wheels that are only a half inch wide and are sheathed with skateboard quality urethane “tires." An Onda Longa board would be an ordinary longboard skateboard except for it's wheels: the large diameter makes the board as safe for land sailing a parking lot as a mountain board and the narrow width gives it a much lower rolling resistance.

Your soccer fields and parking lots look good for land sailing. I also avoid malls. The parking lots I frequent are owned by schools, big box churches or a few businesses that don’t often deal with the general public.

Three one nine five zero four four eight six six is my cell phone number. My direct email is delcarpenter at the initials for Cedar Falls Utilities dot net, such as cfu.net

Good winds,

Del

When I was in college (Kalamazoo MI) I put a couple of wide skate trucks on a 3' piece of plywood and rode that quite a bit. Put a bunch of staples into the deck for non-skid. Hours of fun
About ten years ago I got a Carveboard (with the tiger paw tires like Del describes) and it is a dream ride for pavement. It's NOT for going super fast because the trucks are very loose and it will go into wobble mode. It's designed to mimic a real surfboard, so it's happiest when on a rail. S-turns, jibes and cutbacks are just awesome.
And as Del said, the tires don't skid violently to a stop when they hit a small rock or crack like smaller harder skateboard wheels do. (says the college kid with two nasty skinned knees!)
And ALWAYS wear a helmet. If you doubt that advice, read up on Craig Stroetzel.
Drew

The master, bar none, of skate sailing , is Guy Trudeau. The video speaks for itself:



Oh- and he does it on snow too..............



Ya wanna build a snowski? I did. Here is his DIY video:

Great videos Alan and yours also Bob! You make it look so easy,
Bob where did you find the mast base plate or did you make it? I found this video on line but can't find it for sale. Anyone know where to get one?

Have you seen these: www.terrasailindustries.com/shop/Completes.html
I may get myself an Indo board for Christmas this year just to maintain my windsurfing legs during the winter months. Good for joints and balance fitness....the sells pitch goes.