Take a look to http://www.peterlynnkites.co.nz/kitesail/part1.htm is a very interesting article by Peter Lynn on Kite Sailing. I have tried a 5sqm Wipika with control bar to tow my Helios 380 inflatable K2 (very stable) and it works fine downwind, upwind you need a leeboard like any kayak with upwind sailing rig (like klepper). Cheers, Giuseppe PJ Rattenbury wrote: > > Larry et al, > > Your words about your parafoil encourage me. I use mine with my single > Klepper, and agree that nothing can compare with kite sailing downwind if > you want to log up the miles. > > I think it is on 'expeditions' that parafoils come into play. Because you > can really cover the ground in a breeze I find it takes a good deal of > discipline to pull the thing down if you are really flying downwind! > Before you know it you are several miles 'downhill' from your put-in, > facing a long slog back into a headwind! This can be a trap for the unwary. > I have made for myself a 'three to one' rule, which roughly states that it > will take at least three times as long to cover the ground upwind after > that wonderful exhilarating ride downhill. I believe this is critical if > you are heading out into a freshening breeze and lifting sea-state and you > are not [intentionally!] on a one way trip. > > Some questions for kite sailors: > > I believe a skeg or fin, or centreboard at a point just aft of the kite > line would assist in control at speed and in a sea. Anyone experimented > with this? > > How do you control your line[s] on retrieval? I find that when I want > that parafoil down, I usually want it down in a hurry which results in a > most unseamanlike tangle of line in the bottom of the cockpit. I have one > of those fishing line handreels about 10 inches in diameter which is great > on launch, but not so good for a speedy retrieval. > > Do you use a tail on your parafoil for control in the higher wind speeds? > Supposedly a tail stabilises the kite, but I find it is just something else > to get wrapped around your gear. > > Has anyone come up with different ways to keep hold of that line. Has > anyone experimented with using your bow tether to take the line forward to > the bow? I thought of some fast release clip system attached to my mast > step to take most of the strain, but retaining hand control. I think this > is basically Larry's system. > > Has anyone tried seakayaking with the Wipika type of kites, seemingly very > powerful, but very expensive? > > Regards, > Peter Rattenbury > Wollongong > Australia *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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