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ocean rodeo "go joe"?

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jyetley
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Re: ocean rodeo "go joe"?

Postby jyetley » Tue Apr 01, 2014 3:10 pm

After losing my white/black Slingshot Ignition 3 different times, I decided to do something about it. It wasn't that I couldn't bodydrag, however when it blows over 30mph on our inland lakes the chop is breaking everywhere.

So I used a sheet of vynal wrap from a local automobile signage store. It cost $20 and was easy to do myself. I only did the bottom side, but the top side could have been done also. It adhered very well, even when it got stratched or torn. No problems, yet it could still be removed and returned to its original condtion for resale purposes.

Plus it comes in many different colors. If you can't find the material locally, it can easily be purchased on Ebay. Never lost my board again!
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dracop
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Re: ocean rodeo "go joe"?

Postby dracop » Tue Apr 01, 2014 5:17 pm

I'm a beginner and I love my Go Joe.

The Go Joe does three things for me:

1 - Props up my board right side up anytime my board lands upside down (the bottom of my board is green and damn near invisible in the water). Sometimes it takes 20 seconds, sometimes 3 minutes, but it always happens.

2- Sails the board in the same direction as me, maintaining a relative position as I am drifting, this makes recovery MUCH easier.

3- Makes it easy to see the board from far away, even in heavy surf. The three dimensional bright orange stripe is pretty easy to spot, especially since the board tends not to be too far away when you go for the recovery.

I have had zero problems body dragging upwind with my Go Joe on. I use my pump to inflate it in like 4-5 pumps (MaxFlow pump using standard nozzle for the Go joe).

Its not something most of the people on this internet site need (you guys all seem higher skilled), but for a beginner its fantastic. I have met other beginners using it and everyone loves it.

Prior to purchasing my Go Joe, I lost my board one day in heavy chop - it flipped upside down and drifted far away from me. I was freaking out until I landed on the beach and some 6 year old kid came running to me from 300 yards away with my $600 board in his hands. After that I bought my Go Joe and have never come close to losing my board since, even in higher wind/chop conditions.

It really does drift with you. You can just park downwind of it and the board will float right on over to you if you don't wish to bodydrag. A girl I know uses that tactic all the time. I'm more active/less lazy as I want more active time on the water; it usually only takes me 1-2 passes to recover with body dragging as its moving with me in the wind.

Highly recommend for begginers just going independent, pointless waste of money for someone with skill.

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blazeheli
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Re: ocean rodeo "go joe"?

Postby blazeheli » Thu Apr 03, 2014 12:47 am

Or just make one yourself. Inner tube tire - flame duct tape and homemade GoJoe. Stronger than regular GoJoe and can be used as a handle. The flames make it coooool !......... :)
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sijandy
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Re: ocean rodeo "go joe"?

Postby sijandy » Thu Apr 03, 2014 7:01 am

blazeheli wrote:Or just make one yourself. Inner tube tire - flame duct tape and homemade GoJoe. Stronger than regular GoJoe and can be used as a handle. The flames make it coooool !......... :)
Just spat my coffee on the keyboard! ...you actually take that thing to the beach with you hahaha. You might as well wear arm bands and a snorkell :lol:

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pmaggie
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Re: ocean rodeo "go joe"?

Postby pmaggie » Thu Apr 03, 2014 10:01 am

I don't use a GoJoe but, once in my kiting life, I lost my board. Kite beach in Maui, august, late afternoon. Wind suddenly became very gusty and unstable, I was slightly underpowered with my 7. The kite fell in the water but (idiot!) I did not care too much about the board, I thought I was going to immediately relaunch and recover it as always. Unfortunately, relaunching was very difficult, it took 3-4 minutes to have the kite airborne again. When I begin to look for the board, it was simply disappeared in the chop, no way to spot it. Also, the wind was quickly dyeing so my only option was to body drag as fast as possible back to the beach. I walked for a long up and down the beach but nope, my board was lost. Eventualy, I saw that the local lifeguards were preparing their jetski and I asked if it was for an emergency. "Just for a training session" they answered, so I told them about the board. After 10 minutes, they came back to the beach with a big smile and my board!! Beer for everyone of course! In this case, I've been very very lucky but I think with a GoJoe I wouldn't have lost my board .

sijandy
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Re: ocean rodeo "go joe"?

Postby sijandy » Thu Apr 03, 2014 11:41 am

Surely just paint the underside of your board? Or, an even better solution.... bindings!

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Re: ocean rodeo "go joe"?

Postby gvironda » Thu Apr 03, 2014 12:33 pm

This is my 3 EUR go-joe
I put it in the board handle sometimes
Incredibly helpful to help you spot your board in heavvy chop.
And I don't give a s**t about anyobody that could think I look like an idiot
I spend much less time body dradding, meaning more time kiting and testing new moves :-)
Just happy!
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dracop
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Re: ocean rodeo "go joe"?

Postby dracop » Thu Apr 03, 2014 5:46 pm

Only thing I dislike about attaching that to handles is that it looks like it has a fat 3d profile whereas the Go Joe is vertical and does not touch my leg when I am waterstarting/riding. But, so long as it works, more power to you. The concept is a good idea for noobs. 3 euros is a hell of alot better than USD $65, although the vertical profile of the Go Joe means it does not interfere with me in anyway. Does it sail the board as well?

The sailing characteristic gives me much longer sessions in the water since I waste less time. As a beginner, I rate it a good - albeit expensive (for what it is) - investment. Saved my butt yesterday when my kite lines got tangled in a buoy after a wipe - the onshore wind took the board straight back to the beach while the current would have drifted it under a bridge. Took me 20 minutes to get my kite in the air (had to figure out how to untangle a buoy anchor line from my kite while in the water) and I myself drifted towards the bridge in the current without the pull of an airborne kite. If the board had gone under the bridge, it prob would have been lost to me as the wind would have pushed it to the other side of Islamorada and you cannot cross the bridge with a kite.

Advanced kitesurfers do poke at it on the beach and laugh at me, I simply dont care. The day I can jump over moored watercraft in 18 inches of water with confidence like they do, I will consider taking it off and painting a glowy neon on the bottom of my board. Until that day,my Go Joe is my friend. It reduces wasted time in the water by quite abit and gives me more active time in my sessions (inactive time being anything that is not a waterstart or actual riding).

Again, this product is only for beginners - I think most of you guys here are too skilled to appreciate what the Go Joe does for a beginner. It's a crutch to improve a beginner's experience and it does its job well albeit at a ridiculous price tag for a inflatable device. I definitely feel I paid a premium although it offers alot of value for me. Be better if there were more used ones or more competing products available as that would offer a lower price point. Aside from the shape its really not that different than the inflatable handle pictured above. The shape performs a useful function though (sailing) and makes it so it does not interfere.

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blazeheli
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Re: ocean rodeo "go joe"?

Postby blazeheli » Thu Apr 03, 2014 6:08 pm

sijandy wrote:
blazeheli wrote:Or just make one yourself. Inner tube tire - flame duct tape and homemade GoJoe. Stronger than regular GoJoe and can be used as a handle. The flames make it coooool !......... :)
Just spat my coffee on the keyboard! ...you actually take that thing to the beach with you hahaha. You might as well wear arm bands and a snorkell :lol:
I developed my homemade GoJoe after a 4 hour kitemare. I was kiting the Columbia river in the early spring when the currents are super fast. I was on the backside of an island and I crashed right in the channel. The wind was starting to die. My board took off like a rocket downriver. The fast part of the current is narrow and when I was trying to catch up to it body dragging - each tack would take me into the slower part of the current. There was no way I was going to catch up to my board. The dying wind in the opposite direction of the current was not helping. The lost board resulted in a 2 hour self rescue and a 2 mile hike back to my car since the current was stronger than the wind. Every year here in the Northwest - in the spring when the currents are fast - the lost and found section of our local kite message board has one lost board post after another. All those "advanced" riders learning that sometimes no matter how good you are at body dragging - the Columbia River wins............ ;)

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rodeoclown
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Re: ocean rodeo "go joe"?

Postby rodeoclown » Fri Apr 04, 2014 5:51 am

http://vimeo.com/13184776

one of these would be really cool


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