Quick Review

The floats, main frame and front fork assembly were sold by Flexifoil as a conversion kit - basically remove the wheels and bolt the kit in place ! The buggy boat really does work and its just like buggying but on water. It will take plenty of power and resists sideways pull very well with a reasonable upwind performance. As soon as the kite's power comes in the boat gains speed and the floats begin to plane. The sensation of speed is good with a lot of spray from the steering float.

There are obvious disadvantages and the practicality of the buggy boat is limited. Once assembled its fairly heavy and really needs two people to carry it easily (although the individual floats are verythin, light fibreglass mouldings). I can get everything into the back of my estate car so transport is OK. Since the floats are fairly fragile I guess they won't take heavy knocks so I have to be sure that there are no submerged rocks around.

Getting into the seat is an art - the boat needs about 1/2 to 3/4m depth to ensure that the fins don't ground out with my weight on board. Its a question of controlling the kite overhead then when its stable lifting one leg across the downtube and a quick jump into the seat!! The first couple of attempts resulted in severe leg bruising as I landed on the frame - hence plenty of thick pipe lagging in evidence which has solved the problem. Another awkward characteristic is that the boat has a tendancy to turn round in the wind whilst I'm trying to get into it i.e. the steering float tries to point into the wind !

So overall, probably not too efficient in sailing terms but its quite a head turner and generates a lot of interest. When the tide's in - on go the floats ! Its not absolutely necessary to have a water-relaunchable kite as long as the buggy boat can be sailed towards shallower water to get out, however the Wipika, PL Waterfoil and Blade have all proven to be excellent !