Clark Little recommends the tongue lick method too:
https://www.theinertia.com/culture/shor ... ve-to-see/

What about the Gath watersports helmets with the face shield? https://gathsports.com/product/gath-rv/ I have this helmet and would not recommend it for hydrofoil protection, as the plastic is not strong. It is great for uv protection, but does get foggy. This helmet would be better for impact prote...

Food is the best medicine. A cardiologist's solution to preventing future surgeries for his patients: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1567233/ Both of my parents and in-laws have had heart surgeries. Both males were macho meat eaters. Both have adapted to a plant based whole foods diet. Don't knock som...

Kite specific versus surf specific, the only difference imo is the kite alaia should be glassed. I've made three unglassed alaias out of redwood which were super fun, but fragile for kite use. The next unglassed one I made out of baltic birch plywood which has held up beautifully to the abuse of kit...

Try riding it without any fins. I had a surfboard that whistled. Sanding/Polishing the fin helped a bit. The fin ended up having a fracture at the base, which I believe caused it to overflex and vibrate. I've since switched to different fins.

The bridle geometry looks reasonable to me. Check out BRM kites as Greg has the bridles pretty dialed. When making the kite, add several attachments adjacent attachments for fine tuning/experimenting. For a prototype, I would suggest either a) putting pulleys on the bridles where there is a V (i.e. ...

Two bars in one. A 20" bar is too big for a small kite (i.e. 8M), where a 17" bar is too small for a big kite (i.e. 17M).

C-kites are fine as long as you understand them. The power is always on, with more power generated by input to the bar (always be mindful of what input you are giving to the bar. Sheeting out, only slows the input to the kite. I ride c-kites and rig them for the gusts. You have a 10M RPM, I would st...

Always hang your gear, never leave in a bin. When it is cold and rainy, my gear stays damp and can get smelly. My main smell comes from booties. I rinse them with fresh water, and when they start to smell (~once a month), rinse them with vinegar. I fold the booties at the ankle, and hang from the to...

Leave the board alone (single fin bi-directional). Ride another board when underpowered, or rig a bigger kite. The mako likes to ride powered, likes fast medium to high aspect ratio kites. Learn to use the rail of the board, and not rely on the fins.