Sports

Kiting : Waterfoil Set-Up

I've been using a Peter Lynn waterfoil 5.7 water-relaunchable kite. I started using it on four-line handles, but as I'm using it for kite-surfing, I wanted to use it on a bar. I originally set it up on the bar as a two line kite, with the two brake lines coming to a central leader, through a hole in the bar to a loop which I could pull to easily disabled (depower the kite) and land it by reversing it through the wind window... A safety (wrist) leash was then attached to the leader just above this loop and knots tied in the brake line leader and adjusted so that during normal flying there was NO tension on the brake lines, but if I let go of the bar the tension would be sufficient to pull the brake lines enough to depower the kite. The safety system worked perfectly... on letting go of the bar, the kite always depowered and then slowly floated backwards through the window landing gently on its trailing edge directly downwind from me.

However, I found that flying the 5.7m waterfoil on two lines (not using the brake lines for turning at all) meant that the kite was unresponsive, its turn rate slow and therefore found it difficult to 'work' the kite in order to generate any power. The following is a solution to this using 'crossover lines'

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This simplified diagram shows the whole set up. First, extenders (green in the diagram) are put in between the main lines and the bridles. Where these attach to the main lines, there is a small pulley or a simple metal ring. The right hand crossover lines then go from the right hand bridle (at the same place as the extenders attach to the bridle), through the metal ring on the right hand flying line and then attach to the left hand brake line. (The left hand crossover line is a mirror image of this).

The set up can be left like this, so that the kite is flown on two-lines only but when tension is applied to the main line, there is also tension applied to the brake line, so increasing the turn-rate. However, landing is difficult and there is no safety system. For these reasons I attach brake lines to the brake line bridle, these then attach to a brake line leader which is fed through a loop in the bar. A wrist leash is then attached to the brake line leader on the loop side of the bar. A stopper knot at a suitable distance (about 70 cm from the leash attachment) is then made in the brake line leader. When the bar is released, the wrist leash pulls the brake line leader which feeds through the bar until it is stopped by the stopper knot. This pulls the brake lines just the right amount to depower the kite and it falls gently (VERY gently) backwards through the window and lands on its trailing edge, directly downwind.

In practice the kite falls backwards through the window so slowly that you normally have chance to grab the bar, releasing tension on the brake lines and recovering the kite before it hits the water.

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This diagram shows a closer view of the crossover modification. (Bridles and bar end omitted for clarity)

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This diagram shows the crossover kit it action.
Pulling on the left hand side of the bar applies tension to the left main line and releases tension on the right main line. As the right hand side of the kite 'moves away' from you, it pulls the right hand crossover line, which 'pivots' on the pulley / ring on the right hand main line and then pulls on the left hand brake line. So, as the tension is applied to the left main line, tension is simultaneously applied to the left brake line, in effect turning the kite as if flying the kite on four line handles.