Rigging your kite for newbies and seasoned kiters

[Guest]

my fun begins monday. I'll be working on my underwater breathing techniques (aka holding my breath) this weekend.

[Waves rule]

Safe vs. unsafe ways to rig kites. Interesting. I'm not so sure one way is safer than another, just different. I think the safest thing to do is know how to rig your kites lots of different ways. I've kited many places, and each seems to have it own, unique rules about how to rig, mostly based on local beach conditions. Kiters on the coast rig upwind (bar upwind of kite) or sidewind (bar at approximate launch angle), SI rigs sidewind behind the bushes, Kite Beach on Maui rigs downwind like Alameda, 3rd Ave beach is generally rigged with bar upwind of kite, 3rd Ave upwind mudflat seems to have no rules - upwind, downwind, sidewind, cross over someone else's lines - it's all good.

It's really simple, though. Know which lines go to which pigtails, think trough your setup if you're doing it differently, double check prior to launch, triple check at launch before giving the "thumbs up". If you're confused, ask for help. Unless you've encountered an especially grumpy local, most people will gladly help. I can't tell you how many times I've held a kite for someone for 10 minutes as they've tried to figure out how they screwed up their lines.

[pipedragon]

Pipe,

Thanks for the info and the diagram. It's good to have the info out there and for it to be clearly explained for anyone to absorb.

I've always run my lines from the front of the kite and never have a problem, and as Gabe mentioned, if someone is off, it's immediately apparent and a quick fix. The most important thing for new folks to keep in mind is that whichever way they use and get comfortable with, stick with it. Just do what always works for you and it becomes second nature.

I've actually had beginners at Alameda ask me on several occasions to check their lines, and I had to admit that since they rigged from the back, I wasn't the one to ask, as I've always done it from the front.

So, use the method that works for and stick with it. Before launching, always visually confirm that your lines are good. 99% of the time, if anyone does cross lines, it's restricted to one side and the back was switched with the front and vice versa, which is manageable even if you don't catch it and go ahead and launch. The most dangerous possibility is if you manage to switch right to left, which would result in instant calamity upon launching! Always check your lines!!

That was basically what I was trying to say. I guess my wording was a little off on the diagram. I just wanted to point out a new way to rig your kite that gets you on the water quickly as I have seen so many people struggle with the reverse way. It is not worth getting in a huge debate over, just sahrin the info. Now if there were wind I would hae much better things to do. Luckily today we are in luck. Yesterday I was really boared as you can see!! v :roll:

[RobsterCraw]

Ive done it both ways. sometimes its better one way sometimes its better the other but it never seems to make enough of a difference to care about.

[jjm]

Jaon sounds like you were a good student. Once you get the water lesson the real fun begins. Bay water taste good in large quantities.

=D>

I ended up drinking 3 gallons today. When are they going to make the bay cherry flavored?

[jowall]

Thanks to everyone for sharing their input and basically saying do it your way if it works. I'd say pipedragon isn't pushing a technique on anyone but had to be thinking "wouldn't it be nice if at least all the newbies did it the same way."

I'm a newbie and was anxious to get on the water on Saturday @ Alameda. First I spent about an hour catching kites, launching kites and watching others do it too. It was super informative. My main takeaway to share is about *walking*.

I had this urge to catch someone's kite and slam dunk it down on the beach right where I caught it. Like I'd get a penalty if I moved too far. I saw others do the same. On launching, some kiters were similar. They rigged their kites 15 feet from the path, walked 23m to their bar and felt like they were far enough away from the path now. When I picked the kite up, they were almost ready to launch.

Then I saw what an experienced kiter did to assist. He picked up the kite and instead of positioning for a launch, he flipped it upside down. Then he could walk the kite with no power in it and get the kiter down to the water. This is good stuff and I plan to copy the habit.

So when you ask for a launch, just tell the assistant where you want to launch from. If they don't have time to walk you there, find someone else. On landing other kites, I plan to walk the person's kite up the beach a little and out of the way.

-John

[Jaon]

I'll find out on Monday. I was thinking of eating a mouthful of altoids first, you know, for the minty aftertaste.

[jjm]

Can someone explain the procedure to rig sidewind? Last time I tried I failed miserably.

[OliverG]

Josh, do you mean with the kite oriented sideways rather than rigging your kite from the front or back?

[Pablito(guest)]

Isn't rigging sidewind the same as Pipe's original diagram, just with the kite at a slight angle to the lines so that it doesn't catch any wind? At SI, on windy days you have to rotate your kite about 90 degrees out of line with your lines, without moving the downwind attachment points (swivel the kite on that tip). Keep your lines are still perpendicular to the wind direction, and attach the side that is still in the same place vis a vis the direction of the lines as it would be if you were doing a downwind launch. It can be confusing to dyslexically inclined people like me, which is why I always quadruple check my lines when doing this.


I guess the other way is to rig the kite upwind of the bar, with the kite leading edge up, and then have the kite launcher carry it to the edge of the window. This is how some people at La Ventana launch. That's a pretty wide beach, though.