I carried parafoil kites of one size or another pretty regularly for several years. I can count the good rides I got on the fingers of one hand. (Mind you that includes a very spectacular afternoon riding on the Beaufort Sea, that made it all worthwhile.) The problems with kites are: 1. The window of windspeeds for a parafoil is pretty narrow. You need a minimum windspeed to launch the thing and keep it airborne - a few knots faster than you would on land because the forward motion of your boat reduces the apparent windspeed on the kite. From a kite-launchable windspeed to a way too exciting windspeed is a diffrence of perhaps 10 knots. 2. If the kite falls in the water, you have many feet of thin, tangly string to reel in. If you are swept by the kite, it becomes a sea anchor. 3. Unlike all the previous problems, I've never experienced this one, but the thought is daunting: If you did have to do a wet exit, and lost your grip on the boat, it will keep on sailing (unlike with regular sails.) I can imagine few things more depressing than surfacing to see your boat already yards away and receding faster than you could possibly swim, while far from shore in stormy seas. Over the last several years, I've been using V-sails, and I get a lot more sailing done. My current configuration is both a Pacific Action sail (http://www.pacificaction.co.nz/) AND a mount that I can fit with the small or large Spirit Sail as needed (http://www.spiritsails.com/). One sail good; two sails better; five possible sail configurations best. The two sail combinations work best sailing slightly off the wind, where the aft sail doesn't steal the wind of the foresail. Just this year, I've added a small tossed leeboard to the set-up. It lets me sail further off the wind. With the five possible configurations, I can sail at a worthwhile speed in anything from light airs to about 20-25 knots, depending on how developed the seas are. Have fun and play safe, whatever option you choose. Cheers, Philip FYI, plans for a homemade sail that looks functionally very similar to the Pacific Action sail are here. http://home.clear.net.nz/pages/grantglazer/Kayak/Hintssail.htm "Paul Ash" <AshP_at_sundaytimes.co.za> wrote: >Hi, >Does anyone here have experience of using a kite to tow a kayak? (Or a golf >umbrella, for that matter). I'd be interested in any comments. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
> 3. Unlike all the previous problems, I've never experienced this one, but > the thought is daunting: If you did have to do a wet exit, and lost your > grip on the boat, it will keep on sailing (unlike with regular sails.) I > can imagine few things more depressing than surfacing to see your boat > already yards away and receding faster than you could possibly swim, while > far from shore in stormy seas. > This apparently happened to a kayaker on Lake Michigan about 15 years ago. As I recall, the kayaker was making a solo crossing to an island using a kite for propulsion. His kayak was heavily loaded with camping gear, including stuff on the deck. (At that date it might have been a Chinook.) Though he wore a dry suit, it was unzipped when his body was found far from the kayak. Chuck Holst *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Hi - just thought I'd add this consideration: If you add a sail (and a kite MAY OR MAY NOT be interpreted as a sail) it may change your designation according to coast guard rules and regulations, including but not limited to lighting, flares and right of way. Comments welcomed. N. Koeppen - Lakeshore Sea Kayaker (Lake Michigan) *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
> Hi - just thought I'd add this consideration: > If you add a sail (and a kite MAY OR MAY NOT be interpreted as a > sail) it may change your designation according to coast guard rules and > regulations, including but not limited to lighting, flares and right of > way. White steady (not a strobe) masthead light is a nice and easy option with a mast of any kind (but not on a V-sail). I wouldn't place any lights on a kite, though - here I would've been at risk of breaking regulations for aviation navigation lights, which I don't know much about :-)... *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Thu Aug 21 2025 - 16:33:41 PDT