"Michael Daly" wrote in message
...
On 30-Aug-2004, "Michael Daly" wrote:

The most experienced kite kayaker I know uses one that's
only about 30 sq ft.

On reflection, it's probably half that size. He let me fly it
once and it really pulled. I remember it being really big, on
the order of 5 or 6 ft on a side. However, it was probably more
like 4 ft on the long side, so the area was about 12-16 sq ft.
That's still big for a kayak, since most kayak kites sold in the
local sops are in the range of 6-8 sq ft.


The only 4-line kite (standing on dry land) I've flown was 3 m² (32 sq. ft)
and that was small. My buddy who kitesurfs has four kites, ranging from 8
m² to 17 m² (86-183 sq. ft).

Kites intended for kayaking are obviously very different from the ones used
by kitesurfers!

-Paul

On 30-Aug-2004, "Paul Skoczylas" wrote:

Kites intended for kayaking are obviously very different from the ones used
by kitesurfers!

Kayakers probably focus more on survival :-)

I've been wondering if a _big_ kite like the windsurfers use might
be appropriate for someone who is crazy and owns one of those surf
kayaks that is close to a WW in size/handling. So what if you lift
off! I've seen a video of guys that jumped out of a plane in WW
kayaks with wing-type parachutes.

Mike