Just short post about last night.
I went down to the beach (altona) to have a look at what was happening down there. It was blowing about 20 knts and wanted to see what people were using. The wasnt alot of riders out there , maybe ten or so that i could see.
It was great watching them, funny thing was that a woman riding a bike almost ran into a pole whilst watching someone jumping, oops. There was also someone taking pictures of the riders.
The thing i wanted to mention though was that when i got there with my 9 yr old daughter and we parked the car to watch from, was a bit cold.
This is what she came out with.
Daddy , there is a North another North, Cabrinha and i think that one is a naish , isn't that right dad?
what tha????
cool though!!!
Tuesday 31 January 2012
Sunday 29 January 2012
Still Going + table idea
Well we went down to the park again to fly the Hydra. Got it up a hell of alot easier but forgot to zip up the air outlet valve on the back , so had to land and fix that. No worries there.. The wind would have been about 15 - 20 knots , possibly a bit less , but i still couldn't get the kite into the power zone where i wanted to without risking coming down hard.
Practiced a few down turns again and actually was able to slide across the grass whilst being pulled and stayed on my feet.
Things are going ok with practicing so far, next i have to be able to launch on my own , so i think that will be the next stage, landing is not a worry..
Ive been getting the gear together for a vacuum table. So far the pump, a fair bit of old lpg gas hose and fittings, a large syringe ( cant get the carby part yet.)
I have been thinking about the PBT sheet that goes on the boards for the shine finnish. I have seen how every ones that makes a board by vacuum bagging gets a great shine on the bottom and at times a crinkly finish on the top. Got me to thinking.
Ive read how people make the boards in two part. They laminate the base and at times later on laminate the top at a different time.
So, considering the bottom comes out slick and shined because it's on the perspex sheet how about if you turned the board over once the top was done and laminate the top as you did the bottom.
Maybe the pics will explain better.
So above is the way a normal rocker table is set up, (Remember i have not done it but )lay up on the roccker with the perspex and then set the core on it and shiny surface when finished.
So we adjust the rocker like this. Turn over the board with the completed base and lay it up in this position with the top facing down.
In my way of thinking this should give us a shiny top finish as well.
Maybe i am right , could be wrong, but hey worth a thought. The drawings were done in Google sketch up pro.
Practiced a few down turns again and actually was able to slide across the grass whilst being pulled and stayed on my feet.
Things are going ok with practicing so far, next i have to be able to launch on my own , so i think that will be the next stage, landing is not a worry..
Ive been getting the gear together for a vacuum table. So far the pump, a fair bit of old lpg gas hose and fittings, a large syringe ( cant get the carby part yet.)
I have been thinking about the PBT sheet that goes on the boards for the shine finnish. I have seen how every ones that makes a board by vacuum bagging gets a great shine on the bottom and at times a crinkly finish on the top. Got me to thinking.
Ive read how people make the boards in two part. They laminate the base and at times later on laminate the top at a different time.
So, considering the bottom comes out slick and shined because it's on the perspex sheet how about if you turned the board over once the top was done and laminate the top as you did the bottom.
Maybe the pics will explain better.
 | |
| Normal Rocker Table Setup |
So we adjust the rocker like this. Turn over the board with the completed base and lay it up in this position with the top facing down.
 | ||
| Inverted table top |
Maybe i am right , could be wrong, but hey worth a thought. The drawings were done in Google sketch up pro.
Thursday 26 January 2012
Up In The Air
We got the kite out for another fly down at the park. The big kites were out along the beach have a run in the around 20knt winds.
We got a little bit more adventurous this time. I decided to wear some gloves so i could hold the bar a bit better and boots and be more confidant with my footing, the ground is a bit rough at the park.
Launching was a heap easier, but we still put it up near the edge of the wind window
Here it is just sitting nicely about 5 mtrs above the ground
. It's really stable and has heaps of power, maybe a bit too much as when i get it in the power zone straight down wind it rips at you. I ebnded up on my face almost once. At least i let go of the bar when i was about to drop ( maybe a bit late) . It floated to the ground and once i dusted off it relaunched easily.
Here is me just having a quiet relax.
Nah i was actually practising pulling myself up. I am around 90kilos and it did it easily in 20 knts.
Here is a video of mt doing that and of my youngest holding on too, she got lifted a couple of times slightly and i was holding on fairly tightly.
She is loving it and you can see how easily it picked me up from flat on the ground.
Thats all for now, cheers
We got a little bit more adventurous this time. I decided to wear some gloves so i could hold the bar a bit better and boots and be more confidant with my footing, the ground is a bit rough at the park.
Launching was a heap easier, but we still put it up near the edge of the wind window
Here it is just sitting nicely about 5 mtrs above the ground
Here is me just having a quiet relax.
Here is a video of mt doing that and of my youngest holding on too, she got lifted a couple of times slightly and i was holding on fairly tightly.
Thats all for now, cheers
Wednesday 25 January 2012
Got it up
Well this arvo i got the Hydra up WOW..
I took the hydra down to Apex park and finally got it in the air after the false start Tuesday night. I knew it would have some power but i could not have imagined how much this 3.5 mtr would almost pull me off my feet. 20kmh (oops that should be 20knts - 37kph) and wow. I tried to reverse launch it and yes i got it up and turned but there was no way i could hold the bar with one hand . I ended up getting my girls to take it further to the edge of the window and up she went.
It was a blast, no need to go to the gym the thing pulls like , well , i wont say it..
Flew it in figure 8's very gingerly i may add ( too scared to really give it a hammer across the window) kept it at the edge of the window , walked along and had a bit of a run with it just sitting there and trying to fly at times without looking. To my surprise i could feel when the kite moved in one direction or another.
Sat down and gave it a bit more stick and the thing just pulled me to my feet, was funny actually , back leg bent and front leg straight when i got up ( no poo stance). Then laid down flat on my back and gave it a bit more with a down turn this time and straight up again. The down turn was funny actually i did the first while standing earlier and geeez, how much power and how fast was it , i guess it went straight into the power zone. I sorta hesitated to do another down turn on the other side to unwrap the lines cos i knew how powerful it was going to be.
A couple of times i almost had to let the bar go and let it drop but managed to control it by fast turning back up and out of the power zone.
Landing was easy , took it to the edge of the window , sat it about 2 mtrs of the ground and my daughter held the LE at the bottom and half way up and i just let the bar go and down it flopped.
It was great and a big surprise at just how much power a kite this size has. I didn't even hammer it so i just cannot imagine what the 10's and 12's are like to control that were down the beach a bit further, or maybe i can sorta understand a bit better. :drinks:
Anyone reading this that is contemplating learning on their own, um forget it. After using this kite at 3.5 mtrs in 20kmh winds trying to do it on your own would be crazy. Those one hour trainer lessons before a real lesson with a big kite, nup.
Yeah, well, i can take it from side to side park it at each side of the window a few mtrs off the ground but in no way would say i am even remotely ready for proper lessons until i am comfortable with this thing.
This is gunna be fun .
That's all for now , If the wind is good tomorrow ill get some pictures of it in the air.
I took the hydra down to Apex park and finally got it in the air after the false start Tuesday night. I knew it would have some power but i could not have imagined how much this 3.5 mtr would almost pull me off my feet. 20kmh (oops that should be 20knts - 37kph) and wow. I tried to reverse launch it and yes i got it up and turned but there was no way i could hold the bar with one hand . I ended up getting my girls to take it further to the edge of the window and up she went.
It was a blast, no need to go to the gym the thing pulls like , well , i wont say it..
Flew it in figure 8's very gingerly i may add ( too scared to really give it a hammer across the window) kept it at the edge of the window , walked along and had a bit of a run with it just sitting there and trying to fly at times without looking. To my surprise i could feel when the kite moved in one direction or another.
Sat down and gave it a bit more stick and the thing just pulled me to my feet, was funny actually , back leg bent and front leg straight when i got up ( no poo stance). Then laid down flat on my back and gave it a bit more with a down turn this time and straight up again. The down turn was funny actually i did the first while standing earlier and geeez, how much power and how fast was it , i guess it went straight into the power zone. I sorta hesitated to do another down turn on the other side to unwrap the lines cos i knew how powerful it was going to be.
A couple of times i almost had to let the bar go and let it drop but managed to control it by fast turning back up and out of the power zone.
Landing was easy , took it to the edge of the window , sat it about 2 mtrs of the ground and my daughter held the LE at the bottom and half way up and i just let the bar go and down it flopped.
It was great and a big surprise at just how much power a kite this size has. I didn't even hammer it so i just cannot imagine what the 10's and 12's are like to control that were down the beach a bit further, or maybe i can sorta understand a bit better. :drinks:
Anyone reading this that is contemplating learning on their own, um forget it. After using this kite at 3.5 mtrs in 20kmh winds trying to do it on your own would be crazy. Those one hour trainer lessons before a real lesson with a big kite, nup.
Yeah, well, i can take it from side to side park it at each side of the window a few mtrs off the ground but in no way would say i am even remotely ready for proper lessons until i am comfortable with this thing.
This is gunna be fun .
That's all for now , If the wind is good tomorrow ill get some pictures of it in the air.
Tuesday 24 January 2012
It Arrived
Well today my journey started. I got my Hydra from the post office and it was waiting for me when i got home. The kids were rapt especially the younger one. I think she is more excited than me about it all.
A brand spanker, straight out of the packet and of course i had to open it up to have a look..
I was actually surprised with the size, lol , and this is a small version of the real thing.
So i packed it back up. Why is it they don't go back in the way they come out.
Off i went to Apex park in Altona. I wasn't sure the wind would be strong enough but had to have a go at it anyway. When i got there one kite was only just up along the beach and two others waiting for more wind. I went to the west end (in the park) and unwrapped, laid out the lines , did the walk down the lines thing and tried to fill it will air, but bugger me , not enough wind. tried for about 10 minutes hoping the wind would pick up but to no avail.
But it gave me a chance to have a good look at the kite and lines etc. It looks really well made , nothing feels cheap, the bar was comfy and the 3rd line wrist strap was surprisingly comfortable to wear. Packed up and went to the beach instead with my daughter. At least i got to practice setting up and packing up again .
Had an interesting talk to a kiter packing up though. It was hard for me not to have a slight chuckle and he was a really nice bloke, however it made me remember on one of the forums how people get stereo typed from where they come from and how they learned to kite....
Hopefully ill get some wind soon.
I was actually surprised with the size, lol , and this is a small version of the real thing.
So i packed it back up. Why is it they don't go back in the way they come out.
Off i went to Apex park in Altona. I wasn't sure the wind would be strong enough but had to have a go at it anyway. When i got there one kite was only just up along the beach and two others waiting for more wind. I went to the west end (in the park) and unwrapped, laid out the lines , did the walk down the lines thing and tried to fill it will air, but bugger me , not enough wind. tried for about 10 minutes hoping the wind would pick up but to no avail.
But it gave me a chance to have a good look at the kite and lines etc. It looks really well made , nothing feels cheap, the bar was comfy and the 3rd line wrist strap was surprisingly comfortable to wear. Packed up and went to the beach instead with my daughter. At least i got to practice setting up and packing up again .
Had an interesting talk to a kiter packing up though. It was hard for me not to have a slight chuckle and he was a really nice bloke, however it made me remember on one of the forums how people get stereo typed from where they come from and how they learned to kite....
Hopefully ill get some wind soon.
Sunday 22 January 2012
Hopefully
Hopefully it's here.
I was out earlier today and was left a parcel pickup form in my wife's name ( she bought it for me). So after 4pm we will go down and look, geez i hope it is the kite and the wind will be up.
I was out earlier today and was left a parcel pickup form in my wife's name ( she bought it for me). So after 4pm we will go down and look, geez i hope it is the kite and the wind will be up.
Saturday 21 January 2012
Passing Time
So while im waitng for my trainer to arrive i decided to pass a bit of time and try to set up some board making gear. I have access to fiber glass and some carbon but thats a bit further down the track. It's funny sometimes, i was searching around the net, asking as work for anyone with on old fridge that i could make a vacuum pump from with it's compressor. Only thing anyone had was an old air con pump, (2 stage) to hard. Then it dawned on me, I've been using an old fridge as a storage cabinet without the door on.
I came home tipped it on it's face and TADA!!!
It looks a bit old and is i guess . it was the fridge we bought 21 years ago when we first got married. I wired up the compressor and again TADA!!!!!
It works.
Ive found a heap of carbon , well not a heap but some suppliers i can get most gear from including glass. Right now i get my glass from Martini glass in Geelong.
For anyone interested here are a couple of carbon suppliers.
Play With Carbon and Carbon Fiber Australia.
Play With Carbon has gear for vacuum bagging as well, including pumps if you want to spend $400 on one. and carbon is $60 per mtr.
Vacuum bagging really did confuse me a bit until i watched this video. it doesnt show a board being made but is very clear on how they are doing this. Also the rest of videos they have are good too.
( i thought everybody loved ray was finished)
The kids are excited as they are helping me clean out the garage so we can set things up. If nothing else come of this at least they are having fun getting involved in what im doing.
That's it for now
I came home tipped it on it's face and TADA!!!
It looks a bit old and is i guess . it was the fridge we bought 21 years ago when we first got married. I wired up the compressor and again TADA!!!!!
It works.
Ive found a heap of carbon , well not a heap but some suppliers i can get most gear from including glass. Right now i get my glass from Martini glass in Geelong.
For anyone interested here are a couple of carbon suppliers.
Play With Carbon and Carbon Fiber Australia.
Play With Carbon has gear for vacuum bagging as well, including pumps if you want to spend $400 on one. and carbon is $60 per mtr.
( i thought everybody loved ray was finished)
The kids are excited as they are helping me clean out the garage so we can set things up. If nothing else come of this at least they are having fun getting involved in what im doing.
That's it for now
Friday 20 January 2012
Information
Wow , when i say information i mean it. There is just so much onformation about kitesurfing it's not funny. Where to start?
I started looking at Seabreeze , an Aussie based community dedicated to water sports. There are a lot of good forums threads for kite-surfing, product reviews and for sales sections. Well worth the effort to join up and make yourself known.
Next, another good site Extremekites. The forums here are great, they cover everything kite related, from surfing to stunt kites. It's a great resource. Some of the info on there can be a bit old though, but forgetting that it's a great site.
Things like this section in a blog Stuff for non kiters, great stuff and helped me a lot. One of the best blogs ive seen so far is thisVirgin Kite Board Project. It deals primarily in building kite-boards. Some great stuff in there and Matt is always willing to reply to a comment you have made. It's the sort of thing that keeps my interest way up as im half decent with fiber glassing . He has a great board design program that is free and once you figure it out , WOW, it does the trick nicely. I have to say out of all the sites i have seen that one has me all eager to get out there on my own board.
Now reading all the info out there wont make you an instant expert , but it will help you understand the theory behind it all. After all , you have to learn the road rules first , before you are allowed to learn to drive.
This one too Pete's Kitesurfing Blog , i could post these links forever , i have so many of them , but it gives an idea about the wealth of information im drawing upon , yep you guessed it "On The Road To Ride"
I started looking at Seabreeze , an Aussie based community dedicated to water sports. There are a lot of good forums threads for kite-surfing, product reviews and for sales sections. Well worth the effort to join up and make yourself known.
Next, another good site Extremekites. The forums here are great, they cover everything kite related, from surfing to stunt kites. It's a great resource. Some of the info on there can be a bit old though, but forgetting that it's a great site.
Things like this section in a blog Stuff for non kiters, great stuff and helped me a lot. One of the best blogs ive seen so far is thisVirgin Kite Board Project. It deals primarily in building kite-boards. Some great stuff in there and Matt is always willing to reply to a comment you have made. It's the sort of thing that keeps my interest way up as im half decent with fiber glassing . He has a great board design program that is free and once you figure it out , WOW, it does the trick nicely. I have to say out of all the sites i have seen that one has me all eager to get out there on my own board.
Now reading all the info out there wont make you an instant expert , but it will help you understand the theory behind it all. After all , you have to learn the road rules first , before you are allowed to learn to drive.
This one too Pete's Kitesurfing Blog , i could post these links forever , i have so many of them , but it gives an idea about the wealth of information im drawing upon , yep you guessed it "On The Road To Ride"
Thursday 19 January 2012
What Ive decided on
Like i said earlier, i have had some experience with a trainer kite. I was actually going to get into the sport about 12 to 18 months ago but for some reason just lost interest or thought the expense was too much.
The trainer i had was an ebay special, $60 @ about 1 mtr in size. I flew it into the ground ( literally sometimes) and in the end the stitching gave way because i just hammered it constantly. I even tried to super glue the seams to keep it going.
Basically it was a cheapy. Taught me a few things but wasnt really made to last. It had a little bit of power when the wind got up, so it gave me an idea of what power may lay in waiting. I also muck about a bit with a stunt kite.
So what is different now and what type of kite ( trainer ) have i settled on.
Well im not sure what has made me want to learn again i just do. I have decided to and have purchased an HQ Hydra 3.5 mtr kite. The Hydra is a big step partly because of the price ( around $350) and because of the size.
The Hydra 350 is water re launchable , as is the hydra 3 mtr. Ive gone up to a larger kite because of the fact that i have played with kites before , i do know a little about the wind window and thought i was at the point where i needed to up the learning curve a bit..
It's ordered , now i am just waiting for it to hit my door. The kids are happy as larry about it and my wife looks at me like, "yeah you're nuts". Having said that though she is fully supportive of me and eventually the kids learning to do this, so thats a good thing.
Also here is a promotional video of the Hydra, sorta gives you the idea of what I'm looking at.
I dont think i will be trying the dragging at first but later on it will be an option to get the feel of what to do whilst still being reasonably safe
The trainer i had was an ebay special, $60 @ about 1 mtr in size. I flew it into the ground ( literally sometimes) and in the end the stitching gave way because i just hammered it constantly. I even tried to super glue the seams to keep it going.
Basically it was a cheapy. Taught me a few things but wasnt really made to last. It had a little bit of power when the wind got up, so it gave me an idea of what power may lay in waiting. I also muck about a bit with a stunt kite.
 |
| Was very much like this. |
Well im not sure what has made me want to learn again i just do. I have decided to and have purchased an HQ Hydra 3.5 mtr kite. The Hydra is a big step partly because of the price ( around $350) and because of the size.
 |
| Hydra 350 |
It's ordered , now i am just waiting for it to hit my door. The kids are happy as larry about it and my wife looks at me like, "yeah you're nuts". Having said that though she is fully supportive of me and eventually the kids learning to do this, so thats a good thing.
Also here is a promotional video of the Hydra, sorta gives you the idea of what I'm looking at.
My Perceptions
Some of the perceptions i have gotten early on from doing research about kitesurfing is that it is regarded as an elitist sport by some members of the kiter's comunity.
What do i mean by that you ask? Good question.
To be honest i dont really know. It's just perception i got early on that some of the members think that they are way and above mortal humans in their bravery and skills and attitudes.
Having said that though, once you peel the layers back a bit you find they comunity looks after it's own very well but is always wary of newcommers that think they know everything like how they have surfed for years, this will be easy without lessons.
Just FYI i do not surf.
But if you are new like i am and take the time to listen and understand what is being said you will be accepted reasonably well through your progression into the sport.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
When you look around at the prices for things you soon realise that it is not a cheap sport to get into.
Kites bought new can cost well over $2,000, when you through a board in that costs up around the $600-1000 mark and over for some, sheesh . Thats without forking out 3-4 hundred in lessons, harness etc. One could expect to hand out almost $5,000 in the end all up if not more.
I have based that view on all brand new gear.
In my nooby eyes this is a bit because it's classed as an extreme sport and the price goes up straight away and some people take advantage of that. Partly because there is a high demand and again people take advantage of supply and demand when charging for things. It's a growing sport and i have no doubt more manufacturers will come onto the scene and offer items, maybe not kites early on , but rather accessories like harnesses . The prices will then start to come down due to market pressure.
What do i mean by that you ask? Good question.
To be honest i dont really know. It's just perception i got early on that some of the members think that they are way and above mortal humans in their bravery and skills and attitudes.
Having said that though, once you peel the layers back a bit you find they comunity looks after it's own very well but is always wary of newcommers that think they know everything like how they have surfed for years, this will be easy without lessons.
Just FYI i do not surf.
But if you are new like i am and take the time to listen and understand what is being said you will be accepted reasonably well through your progression into the sport.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
When you look around at the prices for things you soon realise that it is not a cheap sport to get into.
Kites bought new can cost well over $2,000, when you through a board in that costs up around the $600-1000 mark and over for some, sheesh . Thats without forking out 3-4 hundred in lessons, harness etc. One could expect to hand out almost $5,000 in the end all up if not more.
I have based that view on all brand new gear.
In my nooby eyes this is a bit because it's classed as an extreme sport and the price goes up straight away and some people take advantage of that. Partly because there is a high demand and again people take advantage of supply and demand when charging for things. It's a growing sport and i have no doubt more manufacturers will come onto the scene and offer items, maybe not kites early on , but rather accessories like harnesses . The prices will then start to come down due to market pressure.
Wednesday 18 January 2012
The Decision
So what has made me come to the decision to do this?
It looks like fun. I is also something i can get my kids into that they may enjoy to spend some great times at the waters edge with them..
Ok, so where do you start.
I guess go and buy the stuff and do it? WRONG!
First off i have gone to as many web sites about kite surfing as i can find, reading as many articles about it as possible to try and understand what the hell everyone is talking about, especially the technical terms. You soon realise that there is allot more to doing this than just putting a big kite in the air and going for a bit of fun.
This sport is can be DANGEROUS ,people get seriously hurt and have been killed whilst doing this if they have not learnt properly. Almost 99 percent of people will tell you to get a trainer kite and learn about the wind window .
I am not about to hurt myself seriously while doing something that should be fun , just for the sake of saving a bit of time or money.
At this point in time i have my trainer on order and should (hopefully) be in my hands within a week. I have had a small two line foil kite before so i sorta got the idea of what i need to learn. Plus with asking questions on forums about what i should learn to do there is a wealth of info out there to use.
Many of the people on the forums are keen to help out if you need it. I definitely will use some of that offered help at some stage.
Here is a video of some rather ouchy accidents whilst people have been kiting, not something i want to experience
It looks like fun. I is also something i can get my kids into that they may enjoy to spend some great times at the waters edge with them..
Ok, so where do you start.
I guess go and buy the stuff and do it? WRONG!
First off i have gone to as many web sites about kite surfing as i can find, reading as many articles about it as possible to try and understand what the hell everyone is talking about, especially the technical terms. You soon realise that there is allot more to doing this than just putting a big kite in the air and going for a bit of fun.
This sport is can be DANGEROUS ,people get seriously hurt and have been killed whilst doing this if they have not learnt properly. Almost 99 percent of people will tell you to get a trainer kite and learn about the wind window .
I am not about to hurt myself seriously while doing something that should be fun , just for the sake of saving a bit of time or money.
At this point in time i have my trainer on order and should (hopefully) be in my hands within a week. I have had a small two line foil kite before so i sorta got the idea of what i need to learn. Plus with asking questions on forums about what i should learn to do there is a wealth of info out there to use.
Many of the people on the forums are keen to help out if you need it. I definitely will use some of that offered help at some stage.
Here is a video of some rather ouchy accidents whilst people have been kiting, not something i want to experience
Road to Ride
This blog is about my trip down the road to learning to kiteboard, kitesurf..
My intentions are that I will be putting my thoughts from an outsiders perspective about this sport, learning, researching, opinions (wether founded or not) as i travel down that road to being able to do it right.
Some you may agree with and some you won't, but hey , thats the way it is.
My intentions are that I will be putting my thoughts from an outsiders perspective about this sport, learning, researching, opinions (wether founded or not) as i travel down that road to being able to do it right.
Some you may agree with and some you won't, but hey , thats the way it is.
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