Few people have heard of it, yet many consider John Blankenbaker's KENBAK-1 to be the first commercial personal computer.
Wooden Widget Folding Dinghies
By James Grahame
Benjy
Benjamin from Wooden Widget writes, "I thought you might be interested in mentioning my folding dinghy
designs. They are after all an old design from the 30s that has been
vamped up a bit, quite retro really. You might also find my newest
design, the Deckster, amusing as well as it uses a mad new propulsion
system and has a hole in it!"
The neatest feature of the Deckster is its clever pedal-powered Mirage Drive, which uses two flexible blades that swing from side to side like fishes' fins to generate forward motion [here's video of it in action].
If you'd prefer to take advantage of the wind, the Origami sailing dinghy is a brilliant little design that folds down to a size small enough for most roof racks and weighs only 20 kg. Plans cost £25-£30. Figure on spending about £200 for your supplies, plus a few glorious hours in the workshop constructing your new sea-faring vehicle.
