Contact   Imprint   Advertising   Guidelines

Anyone have the single front line drift launch sorted?

Forum for kitesurfers
ronnie
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 4189
Joined: Sun Jul 24, 2005 6:39 pm
Has thanked: 31 times
Been thanked: 61 times

Anyone have the single front line drift launch sorted?

Postby ronnie » Wed Jan 28, 2015 2:56 pm

I'm happy with the drift launch of my IDS kites.

Drifting with a single front line flag out seems very difficult to completely control.

4 line kite. Assuming flat shallow water. Bottom is sand with broken shells in it and some small barnacle covered rocks/stones. Dragging the kite from the sand into the water would risk getting a cut. Drifting the kite with loose lines would risk snagging on stones and maybe tangles.

I have succeeded in drift launching them but am not satisfied that the method is safe enough and am looking for ideas for a safe, repeatable method.

User avatar
edt
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 7316
Joined: Fri Jul 16, 2010 6:27 am
Kiting since: 2010
Local Beach: Michigan
Gear: ride hard, no regrets
Has thanked: 530 times
Been thanked: 664 times

Re: Anyone have the single front line drift launch sorted?

Postby edt » Wed Jan 28, 2015 3:04 pm

bring a large blanket? You put the kite on the blanket near shore so the kite doesn't get cut when you slide it into the water.

ronnie
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 4189
Joined: Sun Jul 24, 2005 6:39 pm
Has thanked: 31 times
Been thanked: 61 times

Re: Anyone have the single front line drift launch sorted?

Postby ronnie » Wed Jan 28, 2015 3:31 pm

edt wrote:bring a large blanket? You put the kite on the blanket near shore so the kite doesn't get cut when you slide it into the water.
Have to walk 300m to 600m to the water's edge sometimes, carrying the kite and board - and the tide might be coming in. I'd prefer a method where I just drift the kite away on the surface and none of the lines are more than just slack ie. the bar is wrapped in a way that minimises the slack lines at all times as I let the lines out.

This is one example of the access to the water.
Attachments
IMGP0397.JPG

nothing2seehere
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 1667
Joined: Fri Jun 27, 2014 3:25 pm
Kiting since: 2012
Weight: 72
Local Beach: Calshot, Hayling, Meon - Southcoast UK
Gear: Duotone Rebel, Evo SLS, Flysurfer Soul/Peak, Ocean rodeo jester, Airush Ultra, shinn boards
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 204 times
Been thanked: 292 times

Re: Anyone have the single front line drift launch sorted?

Postby nothing2seehere » Wed Jan 28, 2015 3:58 pm

I haven't tried it but this looked fairly sensible

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1W3Vodx2riA[/youtube]

Assuming you have a fairly shallow area of water

User avatar
edt
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 7316
Joined: Fri Jul 16, 2010 6:27 am
Kiting since: 2010
Local Beach: Michigan
Gear: ride hard, no regrets
Has thanked: 530 times
Been thanked: 664 times

Re: Anyone have the single front line drift launch sorted?

Postby edt » Wed Jan 28, 2015 4:35 pm

the problem with that technique shown in the boat video is you have 3 slack lines and 1 tensioned one. You hold tight on the near center line but the other 3 lines have to be slack and on a poor sea floor they can snag. On the mini-5th you can keep all lines pretty tight as you reel out the lines.

I'm not sure there is a solution that ronnie wants that is an exact equivalent to the mini-5th drift launch on the single center flagging, I mean not safe ones at least.

I drift launch a lot and always have to let some of the lines go slack, usually I just let all the lines go slack.

I think he needs to think "out of the box" here. Instead of replicating exactly what he did with the IDS he needs to invent a new method.

Kite control lines have a density somewhere between 0.95 and 0.98 while salt water has a density around 1.02 grams per cc. So maybe the solution is to figure out which kite control lines float the best, that's another solution. Other ideas include a tethered launch with a anchor on the sea floor (don't forget to put a float on the anchor so you can find it if it gets pulled out).

User avatar
Starsky
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 4373
Joined: Mon Apr 19, 2004 12:12 pm
Brand Affiliation: None
Location: Ontario
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 3 times

Re: Anyone have the single front line drift launch sorted?

Postby Starsky » Wed Jan 28, 2015 4:57 pm

Agree with EDT and will add that any time you let a kite drift its a bit of a gamble. You definitely need to suit the method to the whatever madness the launch presents. Have a few spots that require a full on drift and I do it differently for each one. In a place like in the picture, if there is decent wind, my instinct would be to clear a spot in the sand or grass and put it up and make my way out with it in the air. I'm usually drifting 5 line kites and pre wrap enough 5th to safety the kite, but try to drift the kite off to one side with enough water on the canopy to keep it clammed on the water, and have to wind out the lines from the bar fast enough to avoid tension on the 5th until it's all the way out. In heavy wind I do it totally different. I drift it out real slow, tips up on its back, tension on the 5th the whole time with a tricky bit when the kite gets out there to get a steering line drapped inside a wing tip to start a launch. Have had kites roll and mess up in a variety of ways and probably batting a little over 75%. Good luck, be safe.

If you have to drift at that spot I would probably unwind all the lines slowly while holding the kite. Be patient and let the lines drift out while walking slowly across the wind to get your lines out in one big clean loop. Once out, put kite LE down splash a bunch of water on top of canopy and slowly drift off to the side. Once drifting, walk back the way you came and upwind to reduce the slack line time and get the lines tensioned before the kite opens to the wind and flips or rolls. That technique works pretty consistently for me, but only suits spots you can stand/walk. Deep water is always a crap shoot!

User avatar
KYLakeKiter
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 673
Joined: Fri Aug 03, 2012 2:52 am
Kiting since: 2010
Local Beach: Kentucky Lake (Tennessee) Standing Rock Cove and Big Sandy
Favorite Beaches: Who needs a beach? Just give me some open water.
Style: LeeRoyyyyyy Jenkinnnnnnns!
Gear: All kites are cool !
Boards are like music. Everyone likes something different.
Brand Affiliation: None
Location: Tennessee
Has thanked: 1 time
Been thanked: 1 time

Re: Anyone have the single front line drift launch sorted?

Postby KYLakeKiter » Wed Jan 28, 2015 5:13 pm

nothing2seehere wrote:I haven't tried it but this looked fairly sensible

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1W3Vodx2riA[/youtube]

Assuming you have a fairly shallow area of water
I tried the method in this video several times and it is solid, but for some reason I had more mistakes this way and ended up with a steering line crossed to a center line. I do realize this was due to my mistake somewhere picking up the bar or flipping the kite into the lines wrong, but these things happen when you are trying to wrangle the kite, the bar and your board to the water in respectable winds. I will use this method when absolutely necessary, but for the most part I have gone back to just walking the lines in a big "U", grabbing the kite, walking out into the water and letting the kite go nose into the wind. Occasionally I get a tangle that can be fixed by pulling the kite back in by a center line then letting it back out. Very rarely the kite spins too soon and tumbles, but that is fixable as well 99% of the time by running the bar back through the centerlines. All doable standing in shallow water.

What I really liked about the above video was using it as a recovery method. I pull the kite to me by a center line, hook the kite to my leash and then wrap up my lines. Much better that dragging my lines back up on a rocky shore.

Wish a had a better method for you Ronnie. I have tried different tight line, or less slack line let outs, but it always ends up more trouble than its worth. I know you are looking for a more accurate and safe method, but I think drift launching is just by nature a bit sloppy, and though it works most of the time, will always have some risk of problems.

ronnie
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 4189
Joined: Sun Jul 24, 2005 6:39 pm
Has thanked: 31 times
Been thanked: 61 times

Re: Anyone have the single front line drift launch sorted?

Postby ronnie » Wed Jan 28, 2015 6:51 pm

Thanks for the replies - all of which are sensible ideas.

The video is about the simplest solution I have seen and as long as everything feeds out OK and nothing tangles or snags, its a good option.

Where possible I get an assisted launch or in some locations I can use an anchor launch. I would only use a drift launch in light winds.

What I have tried is laying the uninflated kite on it's back and laying out the lines from the L/E side of the kite and attach them with the bar upside down.

Then walk the inverted bar to the side the flagging line is on to the angle to the kite I would be at when it was flagged out. Then back away from the kite until the opposite rear line still has some slack in it. Then wind all the slack of the flagging line onto the bar. Then wind almost all of the slack of the nearest rear line onto the bar. Then wind almost all of the slack of the opposite front line onto the bar.

Then wind all of the lines onto the bar until I get near to the kite and double half-hitch the lines.

I then have to avoid the bar ever going between the lines as I roll the kite up with the bar at the centre in front of the leading edge.

Same thing in reverse as I drift launch it.
Turn the kite into the parked position with the flagging line taut and let it drift away as I unwind all 4 lines.
That's when my problems usually start.
Having only done this a few times so far, its difficult to figure out which lines are which and which to unwrap first. I think 4 lines of different colours would help, but a lot of it would be down to repeating the process often enough to always do it exactly the same way.
The opposite front line is the one to unwind first, then the nearest rear line.

Then keep the tension on the flagging line while unwinding the slack in it. Then pull in a kite width of the nearest rear line and feed out the flagging line, making sure the opposite rear line goes under the kite as the kite turns to present the underside to the wind.

Theoretically it should work, but it always seems complicated when doing it. Making my own coloured lines and repeating it several times in very light winds, should make it work.

In theory, I should be able to do the same in reverse when finishing a session, starting with pulling in enough slack on the flagging line to fully depower the kite, but I would only do that in light winds.

I have found that having extensions on the lines can be a source of snagging, so use full length lines now.

The method in the video is nice and simple, and I have clipped the leash onto the kite in the past and walked with it flying upside down while I unwound the lines, then drifted it out and so far I have not had anything really bad go wrong when drift launching. The video's method is maybe going to be reliable enough.

I have had problems with drift launches but been able to sort them out - sometimes by having to abort the launch completely.

This video shows how to set the kite at an angle to the wind so the kite will drift without rotating (as long as the lines stay slack).
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sm9q6V3bIM[/youtube]
Last edited by ronnie on Wed Jan 28, 2015 7:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
KYLakeKiter
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 673
Joined: Fri Aug 03, 2012 2:52 am
Kiting since: 2010
Local Beach: Kentucky Lake (Tennessee) Standing Rock Cove and Big Sandy
Favorite Beaches: Who needs a beach? Just give me some open water.
Style: LeeRoyyyyyy Jenkinnnnnnns!
Gear: All kites are cool !
Boards are like music. Everyone likes something different.
Brand Affiliation: None
Location: Tennessee
Has thanked: 1 time
Been thanked: 1 time

Re: Anyone have the single front line drift launch sorted?

Postby KYLakeKiter » Wed Jan 28, 2015 6:53 pm

Here is a video I did just experimenting with a strut mounted gopro. Obviously not kiteforum worthy kiteboarding, but the kite view of the drift launch may be interesting to some. One small detail I have been doing differently lately is running my lines to put the bar as close to the water as possible, then grabbing the kite first and walking to the bar. This helps a little keeping the lines from snagging rocks and debris on the beach.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6MqX6TLP8A


Return to “Kitesurfing”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Aleza, Bing [Bot], CaptainKook, mrcrss, suisd12 and 509 guests