BlindRider wrote: ↑Mon Apr 01, 2019 2:48 pm
What's your suggestion on kite racing line lengths.
12-13m for your smaller kites, 13-16m for your medium kites, and 15-18m for your larger kites (17m-21m).
That said, some guys ride 12m lines on their 21m race kites...just personal preference really.
How does line length and kite size relate?
The shorter your lines, the less "room" for the kite to turn and move in the sky. This means you need to be more direct and deliberate in fast gybes because the kite will want to finish the downloop with a wingtip very close to the water versus on much longer lines. With extremely wide kites like 15m+ this can be a factor getting used to the timing.
Do bigger sizes require longer (17-18m) lines, and smaller sizes shorter lines (12-15m)?
That's not far off. It generally has more to do with wind range; I can do more with an 11m kite on 17m lines than I can with a 15m kite on 12m lines in light wind.
For racing, you might want to have a 12m line set and 2 sets of 3m extensions. That way you have 12m, 15m, and 18m lines just by adding and removing extensions.
Is there a progression/learning curve to adapt to short line?
Coming from very long freeride lines, yeah, the timing of the power stroke is tricky and you need to get ready for the kite to be 6-12 feet closer to the water during everything you do (increases risk of dropping it a bit). That said, the feeling of the kite is much more direct and intuitive, and you can ride with more power, so you should be g2g after a couple hours practice. It's not a "skill" to learn so much as a minor "technique."
I was also wondering, is it really necessary to use a seat harness for racing? I saw many pics with riders wearing waist harnesses during a race.
Not any kind of professional racing you didn't. It's not a mandatory line item of cost, but I personally found my hydrofoil basically unrideable until I transitioned to a seat harness. YMMV.