There was mention of kites in the discussion of sailing rigs. I have used a 7.5 sq. ft. parafoil in my Folbot Greenland II (with rudder) and found it very satisfactory in winds of 12 mph to 25 mph (guesstimate) -- which conditions are very common. The kite costs under $50 and stows in a bag smaller than one gallon Ziploc. In 20 mph winds, the kite alone pulls the double at close to hull speed. In open water, there is little need to let out a lot of line because you have decent wind even 50 feet up. A kite is particularly pleasant to use on canals or any river with a steep bank. You can paddle upwind with ease by hugging the more windward shore. Downwind, you use the kite flying above treetops. With 200 ft. of string out things can get a little anxious as you approach bridges. There is also a 15 sq. ft. parafoil, said to generate around 60 lbs. of pull in 25 mph winds. This seems a bit much for hand holding, but in the 10-15 mph wind speed range might be OK. In calculating downwind rigs, it is important to remember that the boat speed must be subtracted from the wind speed to get the apparent wind. For this reason, things get very fluky when the wind speed drops below 10 mph. As to using a kite in a narrow single, I could see this becoming a white knuckle exercise very quickly. Without a paddle to brace the kayak, it would be prone to capsize in seas or from the lateral pull of the kite. I have yet to try any emergency procedures. However, I believe that if the wind suddenly gusted, the kite would drop into the water if you let line flow at full speed. You could then fish the kite out as you passed it. Ken Cooperstein *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Sun Dec 05 1999 - 05:55:00 PST
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