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The oldest video footage of bizarre wind-powered craft

by Magnus Smith 3 Nov 2024 12:00 GMT
Innovative thinking from Jack Knights - the Cobber singlehander © Thomas

Last week we looked at the oldest videos of craft which chased the wind speed record. Whilst they did not always look conventional, they still had a certain sanity about them. Our video archive has uncovered some designs which are way more unusual... or even, plain silly.

(Most of the videos are from the UK because early newsreels have survived. However, please let us know of footage from other countries, as we do not wish to focus solely on the crazy Brits! You can submit video links for immediate review.)

Our oldest video comes from 1931: The Sail Prop. It does not look overly efficient, but the same idea can be seen in another video below!

Then in 1932, a home-made land yacht using bicycle parts.

Three years later, we can see brief footage of an autogyro on a boat. Read more about autogiros on yachts.

1954 saw 'Trion', an unconventional design with Y-shaped hull and four booms.

1960 witnessed an Inflatable sailing boat on the Thames.

There was a Twin masted dinghy invention in the year 1961.

1968 must have been a quiet year, for a Shropshire lorry driver attempted a transatlantic voyage in a rubber dinghy.

From 1969, here's an unconventional design of plane-sail trimaran at Hayling Island. While the concept seems sound, apparently this project never delivered. One viewer insists the tow boat is cropped out of this video!

The Kon Tiki Expedition was a fascinating book about a madcap voyage to prove a theory. Whilst Thor Heyerdahl did get the theory wrong, his voyage was totally successful. By 1970 he was starting a second papyrus boat for an ocean crossing.

We finish with a bizarre offering, from 1983. Even if this video was not in French, I fear I would not understand it: Navigation en pouçée.

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