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If you cannot simply drag loose lines into the water, there is a better way than wrapping them back on the bar. If it’s at all windy I find it a pain to undo lines from a bar as the kite tensions them. I’ve used a small nylon stuff sack with good results. The lines have to be loaded into it properly as to feed out cleanly as the kite drifts. Sack needs to be small enough that packed lines fit snug enough to survive the swim out. Sack stows in sleeve of wetsuit. To pack lines I tick tack them fig 8 across my palm around thumb and pinky. Start at bar and work toward kite once near kite, grip lines at the central crossing, fold in half so that the lines will feed out (kite end) from the Center of the bundle and stuff properly into sack so that lines feed out cleanly. Learn how to pack a safety throw line to get the concept and practice a bit before taking it to the water.

https://m.youtube.com/results?q=packing ... +line&sm=3

Takes some practice, you still need to remain aware enough not to pass the lines through themselves throughout the launch and there is inherent risk, but in really bushed in launches it works great for me...... That being said I far prefer to find a spot that works for simply dragging my lines out cleanly into the water.

Personally I only drift launch in lighter winds. Usually foiling

Hi, I don't know if any of what I am going to say will help you, but maybe there will be something that does.

I drift launch every session. The only problem I have had so far is the CL falling down on the harness hook and disconnecting itself by lying on and then bending the DD.

I never launch on a beach because I always kite from my small boat in shallow water.
The dinghy is anchored in about 2 ft of water and here are my steps.

1 Pump kite in front of boat with bar and a few turns of line thrown downwind.
2 Attach kite to back of dinghy with caribiner, kite arranged inverted ie. Tips up.
3 Walk out lines direct downwind, sort, check and if all good.
4 Clip in and with one hand on QR and other holding bar out, wade back up to kite by a curved route to leave lines in a loose loop.
5 Unclip kite from dinghy and flip over.
6 Submerge LE to scoop water
7 let kite go but hold on to the closer front line (flag line) and let kite go controlling slight tension so it does not turn downwind and fill by trailing edge.
8 Watch all lines for problems as they approach me (twigs, weed, etc) if any problems, haul kite back to me.
9 As tension builds in all lines, kite takes shape, (this is when the CL may come off) take hand off QR and take bar, and launch.

The Self Landing is.

1 Park kite trimmed in at edge of window.
2 Lean forward and grab upper front line (flag line)
3 Yank hard and fast one complete kite width towards me.
4 While throwing the recovered bights of line downwind to join the others...
5...haul in the kite on the flag line till I have it in hand.
6 Unhook CL and drop bar under the kite.
7 Deflate in dinghy tips up.
8 Wind up lines.

This is a 4 line low V line setup. With a high V (North/Core etc) pull double front lines, and swap to upper (closer) front line as soon as possible.
5 line system, use middle line all the way.

I have built model of the kite (see image) and tested all scenarios. Line wind-up on the bar proved to be a reliable way either with downwind or upwind rigging. The only and the only thing one have to watch is to make sure NOT to pass the bar (with lines wound up) through lines (will post more pictures on this exact moment). This is much easier to catch when using model compared to real kite but still doable.

I used to drift launch until one time the lines tangled in some seaweed. I've seen guys drift launch when there was someone to assist and things went terribly wrong. Can you possibly do a tethered launch?

thanks, except of seaweed situation, can you give more specifics on what went terribly wrong... as for tethered, good point but it would not work as per https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAZNC9ejR8I

I drift launched for the first time twice yesterday and both times my rear lines wound up wrapped around the front lines. Reading this thread and thinking on how it happened, I'm sure it's due to a very subtle and momentary mistake. If you're wrapping up your lines to transport the bar with the kite from the beach to the water (as I did, given the presence of huge mats of seaweed and flotsam up to the water's edge, which my lines would've tangled on), you'll likely slide the bar under the kite so you can hold it against the LE as your carry the kite upside down. The bar will likely rotate 180 degrees (around the bar axis, towards the kite's trailing edge) from its initial position so that the bar is flush against the LE. Here's where you have to be very careful, when you set the kite in the water and grab the bar to start unwrapping the lines, that you don't rotate the bar another 180 degrees (towards the trailing edge, thus completing a full rotation and wrapping the front and rear lines around one another, as happens in a kite inversion). At the time of launching I was initially mystified how the line wrapping occurred, as I checked the lines carefully on the beach after attaching them to the bridle and before wrapping them up to carry the kite to the water and in both cases they were fine. Nor did the kite roll over itself / invert during launch.

Check this video on YouTube, Kite Boarding Drift Launching RIPD NZ (New Zealand). It works for me!

In essence:. - ( all sorts of safety caveats apply - do your own risk assessment etc. )

Wrap downwind rig.
Pass bar over canopy, rest it on leading edge.
Go round to bar and hook and donkey dick in.
Turn kite over and leash to pump connection.

Carry to water.
With kite still on leash unwrap lines walking backwards into wind.
Transfer leash to bar and turn kite back over (in opposite direction of rotation to original flip).
Dunk kite and release sideways, continue walking backwards.