Windjammer Surf Racers

Infobox dual roller coaster
name= Windjammer Surf Racers


caption=
location=Knott's Berry Farm
section=The Boardwalk
type= Steel
type2=Wild Mouse
type3=
status= Operated
opened= March 26, 1997
manufacturer= TOGO
designer= TOGO
model=
track=
lift= Chain lift
height1= 69
height2= 69
drop1= 54
drop2= 31
length1= 1851
length2= 1839
speed1= 40
speed2= 40
inversions1= 1
inversions2= 1
duration1= 1:30
duration2= 1:30
angle1= 42
angle2= 42
acceleration1=
acceleration2=
gforce1= 2.3
gforce2= 2.3
capacity= 1400
cost= $6,200,000
restriction= 48
rcdb_number= 294

Windjammer Surf Racers, also known as "Jammer", was a roller coaster at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California. The ride was known to be a mechanical nightmare, and the park's resulting lawsuit against the manufacturer, TOGO, eventually caused the demise of the company.

The ride

"Windjammer Surf Racers" was a unique coaster; it involved small Wild Mouse-like trains running on a full size track. There were two independent tracks (red and yellow) that were constructed parallel to each other, in which the purpose of the ride was to pit both tracks in a race against each other.

The coaster's rider load/unloading platform did not have an airgate system to keep queuing guests clear from advancing vehicles within the station.

The ride was dressed as a tribute to the fabled Southern California beach culture, complete with towering palms trees, beach sand, a miniature lagoon, a scaled-down lifeguard watch tower, and other beach-worthy props. The on-ride photograph sales booth was built into the side of a scaled-down replica of a yacht.

Lawsuit

"Windjammer Surf Racers" did not run frequently because it was plagued with mechanical problems. Just a few weeks into operation, several parts had to be replaced. Knott's Berry Farm spent about $2 million on repairs and inspections alone. Because of these problems, Knott's filed suit against TOGO seeking $17 million in damages, claiming that TOGO poorly designed and engineered the coaster which prevented successful operation during its three years. They reported problems such as misaligned tracks, defective safety restraints, and wrinkles in the main frame of the trains. The park also claimed that the ride's design flaws prevented operation during medium winds, sometimes stalling even during slight breezes, which Knott's called an "embarrassment" due to the name of the ride. cite web
title = "Windjammer Surf Racers"
publisher = Thrill Network
url = http://database.thrillnetwork.com/ride_view.php/1557/windjammer_surf_racers_yellow.html
accessdate = 2007-12-28 ]

The ride remained closed during the lawsuit as evidence. When Knott's was unable to complete a sale of the ride, it was dismantled in July 2001. In November 2003, the jury rejected Knott's lawsuit in favor of TOGO International.

The land formerly occupied by "Windjammer Surf Racers" now contains Xcelerator.

A list of some of the problems that plagued the attraction:

* Several incidents in which wind speeds as low as 5 mph would slow vehicles down enough to a point where they would stall in certain track sections of the ride.

* The ride closed frequently due to mechanical problems.

* Manufacturing defects such as wrinkles in the mainframe of the vehicles, misaligned tracks, and faulty wheel assemblies.

* Safety harnesses replaced weeks into operation due to quality issues.

References

External links

* [http://database.thrillnetwork.com/ride_view.php/1557/windjammer_surf_racers_yellow.html ThrillNetwork.com' - Windjammer Surf Racers]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGaYLx__3nA On-Ride Video]