I bought something...

PaleMelanesian · #31 08-03-2012, 08:38 AM

I'm guessing spring rates. What's the Prius' empty weight distribution? If it's front-heavy then the rear springs will be fairly light. A wagon like Dan's would likely be heavier in the rear to start with and have stiffer springs to compensate. When you load it down, the same cargo will affect the lighter sprung car more because it's a bigger percent change.

I found some numbers:
Prius: 2986 lb, 59/41% F/R = 1224 lb on the rear
Elantra Touring: 2937 lb, 60/40 = 1175 lb on the rear

So no, that's not it. Never mind. Maybe it's the suspension geometry instead. Let's see: Touring has independent multilink, Prius has torsion beam. That looks like it to me.

EdwinTheMagnificent · #32 08-04-2012, 07:37 AM

James, nice boat. It appears to powered by wind. We had something very similar when I was a kid. It was a 12' Butterfly and I remember it had an 18' mast. My dad fabricated a couple of wooden rails to act as a cradle on the roof of the Dodge station wagon. Two teenagers could put the boat on top of the car or take it off. Cars weren't nearly so tall in those days.
I'd love a sailboat of my own , but that would mean a 16' cat and a trailer of course. Not sure I want to do that, especially since my cousin has a swell 25' boat he keeps in Waukegan. One Sunday last year we were out for SEVEN hours.Non-stop sailing , not parking and drinking(like the powerboaters do) Having an auto pilot takes a lot of struggle out of it.
Gotta love sailing.

brick · #33 08-05-2012, 08:48 AM

The car didn't feel quite so terrible on the return trip. I attribute that mostly to dry pavement. We won't need to pack this heavily for a while, so maybe I won't give up on the rack immediately.

I will say that the drive train didn't struggle against the weight nearly as much as I would have expected. This route involves steep grades, one of which is 3mi long and peaks at 8%. There are a few other big hills at 6 and 7%. I thought the HV battery was going to be flat at the top of that monster but there was something left. I must have driven 10 miles in each direction in "B" in an attempt not to hammer the HV battery with huge charge currents at high SoC.

TheStepChild · #34 08-05-2012, 09:16 AM

Yup, that's what it is, a butterfly.

CRT1 · #35 08-06-2012, 12:19 PM

Edwin, I had a Hobie 16 when I was in high school & college, double trapeze gear. Pitch-poled a few times real good. One minute you are sailing at 20 knots the next minute, flying through the air with the greatest of ease no boat is sight.

Infinite MPG and crazy times. Ahhhhh, to be 18 again . .

TheStepChild · #36 09-12-2012, 05:37 PM

sorry for the off topic bump, but we strayed to sail boat talk...

If anyone sees a cheap butterfly or a 'old' style butterfly rudder, I need one. Great Lakes area, Upstate NY or Orlando Flordia.

Spilled mine something major today. haha, oops.

sitting on the bottom of the boat, upside down floating around until another boat passed by and helped me get it upright again. First try to flip it I saw the rudder still attached. other boat pulled too hard and re-flipped it, oops again. 2nd time we got it upright but rudder was no where to be found.

New rudder is $350, ouch. Found a couple whole boats with everything and trailer for $550.

GOOD TIMES