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"Scott Bemis" wrote in message om... Has anyone seen or read of sea kayakers using water relaunchable kites to sail with a sea kayak? I am a little hesitant due to all the lines on a kite, in particular the potential for entanglement with a powered kite. This is the situation of capsizing in the sea kayak with kite still powered by the wind. There would be still significant tension on the lines. Larger kites also generate a fair amount of power. Kiters can be lifted out of the water and "fly" for a fair distance in the air. As this would be a somewhat downwind situation, and I do not understand how I could keep my hands on the paddle, even with the cleats I have on my kayak, what is done in a broach situation? The stern rudder will not work. Or does the kite assist in this situation? After watching windsurfers and kiters on North Maui, I remain somewhat curious though. The kiter, with a powered kite, could right himself after being caught in a breaking wave. He had the kite to assist him. The windsurfer had a more difficult time - a sail full of water. The kites those guys use have a couple levels of safety systems, which will cause the kite to lose power and drop from the sky (The third level is a knife.) Of course, if you did tip, you might just want the power of the kite to pull you back up, or you could end up in a nasty tangling situation. A four-line kite like those can also be tacked upwind, so you're not limited to downwind travel. I don't know how you could steer the kite and paddle at the same time. I think you'd stow the paddle and use the kayak's rudder to set the boat's angle. I couldn't figure out why my buddy said he didn't use a leash on his kiteboard, until I watched him (and others). The kite generally stays up after a wipeout, and they can use it to pull themselves back to their boards. -Paul |
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. Mike |
"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 |
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