Trainer kite on a paddleboard

[dyyylan]

it depends on the paddle board. my 7'8 isn't super easy to ride behind a kite without practice because it's tough to stand on if you're not moving or surfing. on the other hand once you get moving it floats quite a bit (100L volume) compared to most kiteboards. it's still completely different than riding a twintip though

why not just teach your girlfriend the standard way everyone else learns

[Rybuffett]

The land boarding and SUP kiting for for me, I was planning on training the girlfriend the normal way. I was just thinking about buying I kite that I could still have fun with after the training was finished. I was mostly looking for something fun to do when the wind was too light. Most light afternoon sea breezes for example. She would prolly have fun trying the other stuff too though.

Thanks for the tips!

[t3rse]

If that is the case, I'd recommend spending some cash on a landboard. It's great to have when the wind is strong but conditions poor (directly offshore, etc), and when it's too cold or uncomfortable...or too many sharks...etc. It's also nice when you are just travelling, and see a nice field with good wind and feel like taking a break from driving.

[Rybuffett]

A nice land board is a good thought. It would be a little hard to find a nice open space here in Los Angeles not obstructed with trees or hills. I don't think they would let me ride at the beach, maybe someone else has tried? I could probably get away with riding in the beach parking lots with a trainer kite tho. Ultimately I was trying to get a trainer to help people learn, then thought maybe if I get a slightly bigger trainer then I could have fun with it too instead of letting it sit in the closet when not in use. Maybe the small size difference wouldn't really make much of a difference.

The paddle board idea was just to play around with. Maybe I'd paddle it upwind a bit and then try and cruise around as I work my way back downwind. I can stand on the paddle board easily, it's a relatively high volume board.

Thanks for the ideas!

[t3rse]

And food for thought: I bought my board for 50$ off craigslist. The bindings it had sucked so I replace those with some nice MBS ones, bringing the total up to about 80$. I have some granny tires arriving today which along with the wheels will more than double that investment, but even with crappy-narrow-dry-rotten tires it works well on hard sand and will haul on pavement.

[Rybuffett]

Nice! Definitely worth the small investment for car trip breaks

[jeffro]

I rode a landboard nearly every day for years on the beach in San Diego. Perfect for learning on those light but steady wind days. You can still learn all you need when it comes to flying and being pulled with a kite. Low altitude jumps, rolls, carves, toeside riding, etc are possible. I recommend using a large kite (I rode an 18M) which are slower and will support you somewhat if you fall. Just stick to a standard mountainboard with the standard tires, and hard pack sand (and hopefully not too many people on the beach).

However, once the wind is strong enough to be on water, get on the water! Strong wind, and small twitchy kites are not a good combination on land.

[Ittiandro]

Hi

I’m considering buying a Hydra II trainer kite,either a 350 or a 420, to cruise in light winds ( 12-15 knots) on my 11 ft Bic Windsup

I read the caveats about boards drifting downwind with a kite, but I have a centerboard as well as side thrusters and I have also replaced the original Dolphin fin with a bigger longer fin. This should minimize the drifting problem.
What are my prospects? Should I give it a try or is it a waste of money?

I am not after speed. Just a better traction than with a sail in light wonds and subplaning conditions.
It it is true that in these conditions, the Bic Windsup performs better than regular planing shortboards ( at least it moves!), but it is kind of slow, even with a 8 m2 sail, unless winds rise to 15 knts or above, which is e not very frequent.

I was thinking that for the same nominal wind speed near the surface of the water, a kite could offer significantly more power than a sail, because winds are stronger up in the sky.

Any comments?

Thanks

Ittiandro

[tomtom]

One word and one number.

Peak 4

[Ittiandro]

Thanks Tomtom"
but could you please decipher the meaning of ' Peak 4" in plain words? I don't have a German Enigma machine and... they hard to come by, 70 years after the end of WW2.

Ittiandro