Naish Torque Bar - flag line knot slipped through stopper

[taiguy]

So this is a new one for me. I was out yesterday on an upwinder and heard a twang sound. All four lines are still connected to my kite and it seems like it's still in the air. Then I realize the twang sound is coming from my safety line as it's completely loaded. There is a plastic stopper that captures a knot on my flag line, and that stopper is then caught by the center line organizer. The knot slipped through the plastic stopper.





Aside from having a loaded flag line, one center is now effectively longer than the other. It gives the kite some weird flying characteristics for sure. I made it back to shore and then swapped out bars before heading out again.

Now to try and fix this. I can't find a replacement part for this on Naish's website. This is for the 2020 ATB Torque Bar. Has anyone else seen this or recommendations on how to fix this?

[kitexpert]

Yes I've seen that happen. It all goes down to have correct size of knot and hole respectively. In your case the issue is that plastic part which has a bit too big hole in it.

I wouldn't recommend to make a bigger knot because it can stuck when quick release is used and then safety system of the kite may not work, which can be very dangerous of course. But if this must be done it have to be checked that knot goes through the bar and most importantly through the chicken loop surely.

It shouldn't been too difficult to replace that plastic pearl, or even to make one. I've done several of them (and other bar/mixer parts) from POM plastic (same material as original part).

[Jfactor]

Use the ozone stopper ball from kiteboarding.com. The hole is TINY and will probably require you to open it up a tad. I’m using these on the bars I’m making and there’s no way you’ll have the knot pass through again.

https://kiteboarding.com/proddetail.asp ... opper_ball

[nixmatters]

Undo the loop to loop connection and make it like in the photo - you'll get a larger knot. Check if it runs smoothly through the QR.
And look for a replacement part. If it happened once, it can happen again. Even with the bigger knot.

[Larry Pinta]

Hi,

I have the same bar but my stopper has been replaced with an blue aluminum stopper vs black plastic stopper. It came spec with the aluminum on both 2020 bars I purchased in spring 2020.

Worth chatting with your local shop/purchase location regarding a replacement.

[evan]

Hi,

I have the same bar but my stopper has been replaced with an blue aluminum stopper vs black plastic stopper. It came spec with the aluminum on both 2020 bars I purchased in spring 2020.

Worth chatting with your local shop/purchase location regarding a replacement.

Hmmm they should have gone for a thicker flagout line and bigger hole through the chickenloop so it can run smoothly when flagging.

Knowing Naish they didn't test the aluminum stopper for wear and it will probably eat up the lines like the old sheet metal line organizer without stopper.


It is problem I see with most brands: hole through the quick release that is too small so they have very tight tolerances for the stopper connection between the flagout and power line. Either pulling through the line organizer or getting stuck in the quick release.
Just go with an 8mm hole like Ozone and it makes life way easier.

[merl]

I've had this problem on homemade bars. What I do is thread (Splice) a thin bit of line through the loop of the safety line. The line goes inside the loop like a splice. This makes the connection quite a bit bigger and should fix the problem. I also liked nixmatters' idea which is very simple..

[Faxie]

I've had this problem on homemade bars. What I do is thread (Splice) a thin bit of line through the loop of the safety line. The line goes inside the loop like a splice. This makes the connection quite a bit bigger and should fix the problem. I also liked nixmatters' idea which is very simple..

Same here. Just keep in mind that the line still clears the QR hole.

[runner1]

I had the same thing happen. Inspect the black stopper very closely and you will almost certainly see a very small crack which allows the hole to open and the knot to slip through. It happened on a batch of the stopper balls, Naish made a stronger replacement.

[nixmatters]

OP, if you are making that connection (loop to loop knot) bigger, make sure that the spliced-in line piece (merl's suggestion) or the twist (the photo I posted above) is on the safety line and not on the flying line.
This way the excess wear from the stopper part will be on the safety line - easier/cheaper to replace than 2 front lines, even if you are replacing just the lower sections.