Kite Kayaking
The "K-Parafoil"
by SP Designs - made in the USA
We retired from building the K-Parafoil kite in fall of 2009 selling
the patterns and remaining Dylon 100 fabric to Susan D. of Alaska.
The last K-Parafoil kite I had in stock was sold to William G of Toronto
in June 2010. I'll miss shipping these kite to places in the world
I'll never get to fly at but I won't miss the work involved in building
them. My K-Parafoil is the work horse of pulling kites!
Please note that we still have some great 200 pound strength braided
Dacron kite line available in the online catalog.
- K-Parafoil 7.4 ( bottom surface 28 x 38 ") ( use 100 - 200
lbs line)
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Below is a close-up of the Dilon 100 Ripstop fabric.
Also you can see that a small zigzag stitch is used throughout the
kite.
Tuning your K-Parafoil
If a center keel flaps in the wind then shorten the bridle line on
it a bit. That only takes a few seconds to do, don't be lazy! If a
back side keel flaps in during flight shorten the line an inch on
it and try again. Ideally the kite should fly straight but if it files
more often towards one side especially in the extra strong gusts then
try shortening both the keel lines on one side just a bit. What usually
works is to shorten the lines on the side it is not flying toward.
That decreases the lift on that side which is what is turning the
kite.
Adjusting the AoA(angle of attack) using the three bridle lines is
an art. Though the knots on the attach line are three inches or so
apart you likely will want to add some more knots for finer adjustment
once you get a high normal flying position set.
Sea Anchor
The other term for sea anchor is what fisherman call them, "drift
socks". They are used to slow boat drift down in windy conditions
and can be found online at fishing/sporting goods type sites. The
problem with them is that even the smallest of them is usually very
large. For a kayak drift sock you only need to drag something that
is smallish.
I now use a 6' foot line with an unopened juice can on the end. I
punched a hole in the center of both ends of fruit punch can where
I run a 1/2" eye bolt through. The rope attaches of course to
the eye bolt and after a bit of water gets in the can it gives good
resistance. I have a bit of foam in my can so it doesn't sink. I used
that expanding insulation spray foam and put enough in just so the
can doesn't sink when filled with water.
More Information on Kite Kayaking
Normally a kite is flown staked or hand held so when attached to
a kayak going downwind the line can go slack if you are not alert
during a wind lull. The technique to void this is normally to just
use the paddle as a brake. That can become work on a long run so the
better alternate is to tow a small sea anchor which is our preference.
This allows you to just sit back and enjoy a nice slow kite tow.
It is wise to attach a float to your hoop spool or string winder!
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Thanks to the offshore fishing guys in Texas for
sending this picture of the kite kayaking.
Inland lake kiting.
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