Ride 'em cowboy!

zOMG the northerlies all wind stopped on Saturday but—praise Allah!—picked up with a vengeance on Sunday! I skip lunch and hit the beach at 12 …

Can't get a handle on the wind—looks fierce and we're supposed to get up to 20 knots. I take the Speed3 12 and Crossbow 16 to the lake beach, and of course both boards. Seems there's a Slingshot dealer here today—hauling a heap of kites and boards. I bet he doesn't ask if I'd like to try them :D

Set up the Speed3 12 and do some little jumps on the beach—easily powered! Get in the water … can't get up on a plane and worse, I can't hardly body-drag back to the beach :o WTF?!?!

Stand around a bit, glaring at the horizon … then pump up the 16. Rig it, get a launch from—I suspect—a newbie who, when I look down to walk around The Mistress of Disaster's kite, does something odd and I look back up to see him getting lobbed over my Speed3 :o he missed it and didn't hurt himself … a feat he repeated later in the day when I happened to see him ride into the beach and wipe-out on the sand!!!

So I get the kite in the air and check the trim—hmm, massively over-sheeting, the tips are bending in! I trim it out totally but it's still bad. I land the kite to reset it but now the wind is way back up so I give up and go out on the Speed3 12 and the Flydoor.

Better. Powered now and making jumps and giving myself a beat-down—can't time them right with this small, fast kite. There's massive chop on the lake and you have to ride out through it, almost directly into it—it's like riding the whoops in the moto-x :o Tough to do any tricks or jumps though cos the waves're short period but tall and there's not a lot of flat water around.
Man this kite is fast—and likes to back-stall :( tough job working it through the lulls … occasionally over-powered and I switch back to the Flyradical but it's too hard to keep it moving. After a big lull, I go back to the Flydoor for the rest of the session. Back-spins and jumps only!

Problems of the day (a new section?) are the fruits on directionals who carve and slash the waves—but never look behind them. I try to give them a wide berth but they make it difficult—and equally tough is when you're hurting for power! So that's annoying … worse is Uncle Never-Relaunch who rides directly at me with his kite at 45° and wont move it—if I stop and zenith my kite, he'll cut my lines; if i cut upwind, we'll probably bodily collide and fuck-knows what'll happen to the kites; if I cut downwind, I'll probably hit the beach cos I'll be super-powered with the kite near the water; and if we hold our courses and with kite raised or lowered, we'll probably still collide. Wanker.
So I send the kite back hard the other direction, can't ride it out and end up submarining for a bit. Uncle never noticed :-/ Solution? Dunno, I need to check the angles next time it happens :o
… at least The Mistress of Disaster stayed outa my hair—silly bitch couldn't get off the beach and spent all day walking back'n'forth :D

It was quite a long session but I (mostly) enjoyed it. Packing up 2 kites sucked though … I was the last one on the beach, in the dark.

Moment of the Day was—you guessed it—the jump that I popped a bit earlier than usual and then went all big and floaty … and under control.

Weather data got laid down thusly … at 12pm we had 15knots at 16°C/72% and it dropped to 13knots at 14°C/65% around 3 before coming back up to 15knots again. Peak gust was 32knots around 5pm … seems pretty close to me—I did measure it as 10m/s before I tried to ride the first time. I labelled the wind as 'crappy' cos it was up and down and spent a lot of time pissing me off—although I did get some riding in.

What I learned today …
• I'm leaving the water too late … I had to hurry things along in front of a wave and jumped before the kite had got to the top of the zenith and I went higher and longer and more controlled than ever. I guess "when you feel the upward pull" doesn't mean "leave the pop til the kite is overhead" … of course, it could have been a fluke :D I'll keep testing …
• I'm in dire need of a haircut … filthy hippie. Wet hair in the eyes sux0rz.
• Starting to prefer the 'radical over the 'door … more fun to ride and I'm adapting to the position better. Bouncing over chop is a bit tough though. Mako should be interesting!
• Speed3 12 is an interesting beast—you can work the ass off and not really get anything out of it. Seems to have to carefully milk it until it's really got some speed in it … or maybe I just need flat water!
• Dive the kite, gradually sheet in and hold it sheeted as you redirect it back up and gradually sheet out—seems to stop the tips from tucking and (with the right amount of bar pressure) you can keep power in a very flat kite. Hmm, wonder if it'll work on the LEIs …
•  Forgot to add—I also think I'm edging too hard and killing the kite. I think I been watching too many wakestyle videos or something!

Frustrated? Not me!

Sunday means I've got all day to kite ... started out the morning with a quick blast on the newly repaired Duke - back to full power, smooth-running and no stalling! - and eyed up the webcam and forecast for the P.M. ... hmm, just enough time to nip out for a nice lunch. Hurried the wife up through desert when the wind picked up around 1pm and headed off to the lake.

We got white-caps! But there are guys on their big kites and they only just look powered ... both boards and Ol' Relentless go across to the beach. After I put on the new straps from Flysurfer ...

You'll remember the straps broke on the Flydoor? I took pics, sent them to FSer and 2 days later I got an email not from the guy I sent them to, but from someone else who explained he was on holiday. And I still got a response within 2 days! Gave them my address, and 2 days later they shipped out new straps. A few days after that, they arrived in Japan.
Customer service win! Good on you, Flysurfer!

A brief review ...
The new straps are the 2012 FSer design - still pulling a strap to adjust but there's a different buckle in there so it moves easily and freely. The older straps seem a bit more plush but the newer ones are MUCH easier to fit better against your foot ... in fact, when I took my feet out of the straps at the end of my session, they were dry - and warm!
Like I said, very easy to adjust, even on the move.
The only problem I had was the doohicky inside got flopped around the wrong way or something, and the strap wouldn't hold its position ... quick fiddle on the water and sorted. Hmm, better watch that ...

Anyway. Set up the 21 ... urk, looks a bit grubby :( laid it out for a side launch but bloody Soh has run his lines out right next to the kite - I can't unwind my lines until he launches. Him, or Uncle Junkie. I use the free time to pre-inflate the kite ... I get it so pre-inflated that I don't even remember waiting for it to completely fill :D when I finally get to launch, that is ...

Hit the water with the Flydoor although I think there's enough power to get 'radical. Oh wait no there's not ... enough to ride but I'm fighting to get upwind. Wind slowly picks up though and although it's lully, I'm jumping and having fun, in between working it upwind away from the beach.

A brief rant ...
Mistress of Disaster at it again. Why does she insist on riding a 9m kite and using a wake-style board in less than 10 knots? It's not like she can land the handle-passes she's trying to do within 2 feet of the shore anyway. So she rides out from the shore into me, forcing me to stop dead and zenith my kite. Later, I'm riding out 30m behind but maybe 10m upwind of her when just stops dead in the water - I turn downwind to ride under her kite but EVEN THOUGH SHE SEES MY KITE she still dives her kite to change direction - FFS you moronic bitch.
Denace the Menace is at it again. Drop that bloody kite on my Speed3 and I'll chop it up. If you can't fly a kite without being told when you need to sheet-out or -in, perhaps you need more lessons :o
Ok I'm done.

Wind still drops off so much that even I have to walk ... wait for the wind to come back as I can see the "blow line" off in the distance. I does, so I ride again. This time on the Flyradical cos the winds up. Then the winds down so I ride out the rest of the day on the 'door.

Legs are getting sore - I guess it's been a 3-hour ride! - body is getting tired so I call it a day, even though we got maybe another 30 minutes of day light ... I've had a great session! But when I bump into Soh in the carpark, he says that he was frustrated today.

Dude ... get yourself a Speed3 ;)


Moment of the Day is starting to fall into a pattern ... either the nice massive jump, totally under control and with perfect redirection for extended float with the super-smooth and totally controlled landing ... or riding past all the suckers walking back up the beach ;)

Weather data for the session has got to be total hogwash - 2 to 7 knots? No way. Peak gust of 15 knots at 6:30pm ... I'm betting it was 6 to 12 knots, average around 10 with the good wind at 14.

What I learned today ...
• Dunno if it's correct, but send the kite and, when you feel you've reached the peak of the jump, redirect with a slight sheet-out then hold the kite there at 1 or 11 - you'll feel extra float - then as you start to drop, redirect the kite to ride away smooth.
• Even Uncle Junkie on the Turbine and directional gives up a few knots of low-end to me and the 'door/21 combo ... nobody else comes close except for Uncle with the Slingshots ... man, he must weigh about 15kg - he's the light-wind master!

Semi-skunked

Had to work right up until the buzzer today, but thought I'd hit the lake anyway to see if it's worth it any more - sun is setting really early now, winter is on its way.

Got to the lake about 4:30pm and ran across with the Speed3 21 and the 2 Flyboards ... sun was touching the hills when I'd finished setting up :( wind seemed ok, hit the water with the 'radical. A couple of tacks, but I don't have the power. Onto the 'door.

A little better, do some spins and jumps but the wind is dying right off ... wait a bit, ride a bit ... give up, pack up.

Moment of the Day was getting riding at all ... it was pretty light. The jumps and spins were the icing.

Weather data for the session was listed as 12 falling to 9 knots at 14°C and 60% humidity. Sounds about right, although I'd guess the wind lulled to around 6 knots ... a few slogs back into shore, barely on the water.

What I learned today ...
• Starting to get cold ... my feet were chilly for the first minute or so until I had to do some work.
• Probably still got enough light for an hour's worth of riding, packing up in the dark - if the wind co-operates.
• Thrust-bearing works fine on the 21 ... doesn't unspin as easily as the 12, guessing cos it's under more load - will keep a closer eye on it.
• Packing the big Speed up in the dark is annoying ... bloody thing likes to spit its bridles out all over the place. Wish the bag was longer too.
• I should be less anal-retentive about packing my gear up :D

Every day is a kite day!

Miyachi had promised after the skunkage on Sunday, that the weekdays would be great. And I have to work ... took an hour off work and headed down to the lake at 3pm. Wind looked good  all the way down, I asked Grandpa what he thought I should ride, he said my biggest kite. I looked at the enthusiastically flapping flag and took my 16m Crossbow over to the beach.

Pumped up like a mad-man, jumped in the water and ... Precious! Walkies! Soh was barely riding upwind and Uncle No-relaunch was packing up and The Other Uncle on the surfboard was underpowered and Mr Too Cool for School was standing on the beach trying to keep his too cool teeny kite in the air. I stood around for a while, waiting for the gusts to come in but they never did.

It was sort of spitting, but it stopped so I checked the sun (couldn't see it behind the clouds) but figured I had another ½ hour or so ... Bring out ol' Relentless!

Oof, barely moving at first but after a few close encounters with the shore, the wind picks up just a tad and I'm off having fun! Throw some desperate back-spins to test out the thrust-bearing mod on the S3 21 bar - perfect again! - then I get a little more wind so I'm trying to jump. Neato! Bit of a lully patch, then as the sun starts to set, the wind really picks up and I'm having great fun! Is getting dark though ... better think about heading in ... try one last back-spin but land on the side of my face - schLAP! ow.

Packed up in the dark - 2 kites, that sucked - but the low clouds were glowing with the lights of  the endless cities so I could actually see better than the nights that have been clear!

Moment of the Day was the big fat jump while the little guy with the 9m LEI couldn't even keep it in the air neener-neener ... the best thing about it was going up, swing in front of it, redirecting it and feeling it lift me again, then a perfectly timed dived when I came it to land ... but-tah!

Weather data for the session recorded the wind as 12 to 16 knots at 16°C and 77% humidity. Which is total horse-hockey cos I couldn't even get planing on the 21 at some points. It may have picked up to those in the gusts, but it was lulling to less. By the time I packed up, it was solidly 16 - but too dark to ride :(

What I learned today ...
• You can still back-spin in light wind if you REALLY put the effort into leaping and spinning.
• I'm getting better at feeling and timing my jumps. Maybe.
• Farting in a wetsuit is just as nasty as peeing in one. Perhaps nastier, cos it's an unpleasant surprise when you unzip the suit.
• Grandpa is pretty spot-on with his wind/kite observations for me ...

A small update

Slow day at work - went through and added sizes to all the kites I've used in the tag cloud ... should prove to be more interesting. For me, at least.

Summer 2011 - The Movie!

And just in case YouTube screws my awesome soundtrack, here's the Vimeo link - http://vimeo.com/31545138

DIY - Infinity bar pimpin'

Also known as the thrust-bearing mod. The following video from 10 seconds on shows the goal of what we want to achieve ...

Stock bar uses a big brass washer (BBW) and then a jam nut on a nyloc nut to hold it all together. The problem with this is that it doesn't rotate very freely so although the bar is cleverly designed so that, after a rotation, you untwist the flying lines by spinning the bar then untwist the double depower rope when you sheet in. Unfortunately, the tension on the BBW et al is such that the depower rope gets chewed up - if you use it in the appropriate method. You can untwist by hand but that sucks.

Here's an exploded view of Holden's needle bearing mod. It shows the setup nicely. The CL is connected to the black thing, the red hat and spring go onto the T-tube that has the double depower line looped around it.

Melting candle wax into the line (more on that at a later date, perhaps) helps keep it slippery; grease or other gunk down there is an option too but washes away and perversely attracts gunk and grit. IMHO the best option is simply to make the bar spin more freely.

Various teflon washer, ceramic or needle-bearings have been suggested but the greatest results have been obtained from using thrust bearings such as the MTBS-816 from here http://torquetrans.com/thrust-bearings/ss-metric-thrust-bearings.mgi ... be aware that they ONLY use UPS and shipping 1lbs (454g) of 8 sets to Japan was going to cost me $85 :D For $12, I got them to ship to a buddy in the US (thanks stetson!) and he sent them here ... for $2.59.

The problem - kinda - comes in putting it all together ... I went a bit mad with my digital calipers trying to work it all out.
Originally, the BBW + jam nut + nyloc nut = very close to 15mm. Breaking it down, the BBW is 0.75mm, jam nut is 6mm and the nyloc nut is 7.5mm.
The thrust-bearing stack (washer-bearing-washer) is 5mm tall. If you try to use the original stainless steel nyloc nut, you have to find a 1.5mm jam nut! Obviously no good.

You can't ditch the BBW cos it covers the pin that holds in the CL. And it's an odd diameter, something like 23mm so if you wish to drop a washer from the bearing stack and use a big stainless washer, then you - or rather, I - have to grind down a big stainless steel washer (BSSW) of 25mm diameter and bore a hole in the middle for the M8 thread of the bar doohickey. I wrecked a drill bit and over-heated and warped the washer I was experimenting on ... oops. So that bit is possible, at any rate. That leaves you with having to find only a 4mm jam nut ... get busy with a vise and file!
Solution 1 : grind and drill your own BSSW, use bearing-washer, file down a stainless nut to 4mm and use the OEM nyloc nut.

Less demanding of elbow grease is the option I tested the other day ... I bought the only little bag of nyloc nuts I could find in hardware stores in Japan and simply bolted it onto the stack above the BBW. The nyloc nut though is not (or does not look like) stainless steel, maybe zinc coated or something. It's also taller than the OEM nyloc nut at 9mm and the lip at the top where the nylon ring is, is taller than the OEM nyloc nut - if you wanted to file this down, you'd end up with a very slim hex part.
Solution 2 : keep the BBW, use the full thrust-bearing stack, add the M8 non-stainless nyloc nut ... and some thread-locking compound.

Those are the two options that most appeal to me - you could also use 2 short M8 stainless nuts or file them down a bit ...
Solution 3 : BSSW, 2/3 thrust-bearing stack, 2x filed down M8 nuts.

I'm of the opinion that so long as the thrust-bearing is doing its job and spinning freely the torque on the solitary nyloc nut is minimal and easily secures the rig ... and some thread-lock for paranoia! So I'm of the opinion that for ease of install and use, Solution 2 is the best option. Only time will tell if the components hold up to the water and work-out ...

Also, I prefer a nyloc nut on the end of the stack because, as you can almost make out in the pictures below, tightening the T-tube doohickey so the end of the thread stays in the nylon ring should stop it eating up the FLS line. One other thing to note too is at the other end of the CL and QR gubbins ... with the original setup, there's a bit of slack in there - the black CL holder has free-play on the T-tube. I think this is necessary because the welds on the stopper for the spring stand proud, and if it was all tightened up snug the black CL holder couldn't spin freely. It's also handy because it'll let the holder move around and should enable grit to be washed out of the bearing stack.

Someone put a thrust bearing at the end of the black tube but that's totally necessary I reckon as when the CL is under load, it's pulling the CL holder down and the kite is pulling the T-tube up - the only stress will be ... exactly where the thrust bearing is!

Here are the pics of what I've got. Crappy cell phone cos I can't find memory cards/chargers/batteries for the cameras at home that can do a proper macro.

 

After all that I bet you want to know how it all works? Well, it's bloody sweet! Spins perfectly, very smooth. Easy to untwist lines - too easy in fact! My first few uses, the bar spun so easily that my reactions hadn't accounted for the smoothness and I'd grabbed the bar backwards ... PLOP drove the kite into the water!

What pretty much happens is that the depower line simply untwists itself when you spin the bar to untwist the lines. An added bonus is that the bits rotate with the bar, so the CL stays square on your harness while the bar moves around ... neato! Well worth all the hassle involved of getting the bits ...!

UPDATE : 10th of April, 2012
Should've gotten to this sooner...

When I got back from NZ (and using the 21 in the salt water) I had with me some stainless steel nyloc nuts. I got around to replacing the zinc ones finally...

Actually, that's not true at all. I bought some SS nylocs in NZ but couldn't find them. So I went to the excruciating process of ordering some here in Japan... When they arrived, they were taller again than the zinc ones (???) at about 12mm.
Eventually - after replacing all the zinc ones with the new Japan-bought SS nuts - I found the ones I bought in NZ... in a ziploc bag of camera chargers and cables :-/ Murphy, you bugger.
So again, I replaced all the Japan-SS nuts with the NZ-SS nuts - which were shorter than all the other ones :o more like the original FSer ones.
Le sigh.

So the big news was that the zinc nut corroded like crap in the salt water. It looked furry and nasty and left a rust stain on the SS washer and green gunk on the brass one. The rust and gunk all wiped off easily though and the bearing itself was still super-sweet!

Despite having only one nut, it hasn't shifted at all... and I don't expect it to - so long as the bearing spins :)