Contact   Imprint   Advertising   Guidelines

Unwanted 'unhooking' while launching

Forum with lots of safety info - a must for newbees
User avatar
Dimitri M
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 4785
Joined: Sun Nov 03, 2002 1:00 am
Local Beach: I travel all over the world.
Favorite Beaches: So many to list....
Style: MY OWN STYLE :-)
Gear: SCREAMER 7/9/12/14 for Free Style. Not to forget the SCREAMER 10 LTD for my one go kite.
SURF 8 & 12 for the waves. RENEGADE 6.5 and 9 for all around kiting. And some times I use my son's JUNIOR PRO 4 when it blows 45+ for the waves.
Just try the EPICKITES and you will see for yourself.
Brand Affiliation: Owner of EPIC KITES
Location: OUTER BANKS (NC) USA. Owner of EPICKITES
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 14 times
Contact:

Re: Unwanted 'unhooking' while launching

Postby Dimitri M » Mon Sep 28, 2015 1:19 am

Yes VIAGRA is like DuckTape. It does wonders. :thumb:

SalmonSlayer
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 584
Joined: Sun Dec 04, 2005 11:48 pm
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 26 times
Been thanked: 1 time

Re: Unwanted 'unhooking' while launching

Postby SalmonSlayer » Mon Sep 28, 2015 2:17 am

I do something like this with my Donkey "stick" out of habit. I never unhook though. This is a dyna bar but I do the same with any bar/hook I am using.
hook (800x450).jpg

User avatar
SimonP
Frequent Poster
Posts: 495
Joined: Thu Aug 09, 2007 4:49 am
Local Beach: Rotorua Lakes, Maketu, NZ
Favorite Beaches: Aotea, Maroochydore, Faro, Aitutaki
Style: Foiling, free-style, waves
Gear: J-shapes foil, Switch kites, Underground twintips, misc surfboards.
Brand Affiliation: None
Location: Bay of Plenty, New Zealand
Has thanked: 1 time
Been thanked: 25 times

Re: Unwanted 'unhooking' while launching

Postby SimonP » Mon Sep 28, 2015 2:38 am

Ideally your kite should be trimmed correctly prior to launch so that you are not overpowered if unhooked. That takes a bit of experience and familiarity with the kite but it is a lot safer than what people are suggesting here.
If you do accidently unhook, it should be straightforward to grab the chicken loop with one hand and reattach to the harness hook.

SalmonSlayer
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 584
Joined: Sun Dec 04, 2005 11:48 pm
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 26 times
Been thanked: 1 time

Re: Unwanted 'unhooking' while launching

Postby SalmonSlayer » Mon Sep 28, 2015 2:52 am

SimonP wrote:Ideally your kite should be trimmed correctly prior to launch so that you are not overpowered if unhooked. That takes a bit of experience and familiarity with the kite but it is a lot safer than what people are suggesting here.
If you do accidently unhook, it should be straightforward to grab the chicken loop with one hand and reattach to the harness hook.
It is not a matter of experience that is the issue. It is having a set up that does not slip off the hook while launching. It happens when the lines are slack and the cl slips down to the end of the hook. If you are not paying attention every time, it will eventually happen. The answer is to hook your CL in in such a manner or with the correct Chicken stick so a rider does not have to think about whether the CL is hooked in properly or not. The point is to avoid having to grab the CL and rehooking.

In addition, the launches I launch from make it very tough to know what trim is proper. There are many variables that cause inconsistency in wind speed. You just need to be ready for whatever the wind is doing after the kite is in the air.

NorCalNomad
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 838
Joined: Thu Feb 13, 2014 4:40 am
Local Beach: San Francisco
Gear: Why should it matter?
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 3 times

Re: Unwanted 'unhooking' while launching

Postby NorCalNomad » Mon Sep 28, 2015 4:17 pm

Dimitri M wrote:The problem is the angle of the hook Mr.jb74.

So definitely you need to have a longer Donkey Stick so it won't come out when your are launching your kite. Because this is when your CL gets stretched from the two forces pulling against each other.

So the best thing to do in order to keep your loop from falling off your harness hook, will be to use some long and thick ZIP TIES and put them on your harness hook.

Use at least 2 ZIP TIES and tie them on your hook looking down and make sure they are really tight. Then when you put your CL inside the HOOK you can secure it by putting the 2 ZIP TIES inside the LOOP going through the HOOK.

When it's time to remove the CL you can always bend the ZIP TIE and push it down.
Problem solved.

:thumb:
Jeez that sounds ghetto and dangerous. I'm really amazed in this day and age how many kite companies put out poorly performing gear and really janky looking stuff.

jb74
Rare Poster
Posts: 37
Joined: Thu Jun 20, 2013 7:41 pm
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Re: Unwanted 'unhooking' while launching

Postby jb74 » Mon Sep 28, 2015 6:59 pm

Dimitri M wrote:The problem is the angle of the hook Mr.jb74.

So definitely you need to have a longer Donkey Stick so it won't come out when your are launching your kite. Because this is when your CL gets stretched from the two forces pulling against each other.

So the best thing to do in order to keep your loop from falling off your harness hook, will be to use some long and thick ZIP TIES and put them on your harness hook.

Use at least 2 ZIP TIES and tie them on your hook looking down and make sure they are really tight. Then when you put your CL inside the HOOK you can secure it by putting the 2 ZIP TIES inside the LOOP going through the HOOK.

When it's time to remove the CL you can always bend the ZIP TIE and push it down.
Problem solved.

:thumb:
'ZIP TIES '- what do you mean by zip ties? If the CL should be secured in the hook by zip ties then I suppose Zip Ties is another kite slang for the donkey stick ...?

User avatar
edt
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 7309
Joined: Fri Jul 16, 2010 6:27 am
Kiting since: 2010
Local Beach: Michigan
Gear: ride hard, no regrets
Has thanked: 529 times
Been thanked: 659 times

Re: Unwanted 'unhooking' while launching

Postby edt » Mon Sep 28, 2015 7:43 pm

I'll try to interpret Dimitri here. What he meant is you attach a cable tie to the harness on the spreader hook right next to the harness. Then take the loose end of the cable tie and put it through both the chicken loop and spreader hook loop. It's not sketch but his explanation is confusing.

slim_charles
Frequent Poster
Posts: 221
Joined: Thu Jun 04, 2015 7:59 am
Gear: The best
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 1 time
Been thanked: 1 time

Re: Unwanted 'unhooking' while launching

Postby slim_charles » Mon Sep 28, 2015 7:51 pm

Don't let the kooks confuse you, your kits fine.... just concentrate on better kite flying and you shouldn't need a donkey dick at all!

Ice101
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 504
Joined: Wed Sep 06, 2017 10:06 am
Gear: Free ride want to branch into strapless riding and more freestyle
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 2 times
Been thanked: 39 times

Re: Unwanted 'unhooking' while launching

Postby Ice101 » Fri Aug 30, 2019 5:35 pm

I know this is an old post but was looking up this issue as having problems with my ozone bars releasing from an ocean rodeo session 3 spreader bar. My 2018 v3 contact bar has this issue. Come off 5 times now. Has the v4 got a better donkey dick on it than the v3? Could be the spreader bar am talking to ocean rodeo about the issue.


Return to “Safety”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 47 guests